The Supreme Court January arguments calendar features six cases over five days, highlighted by a Florida challenge to six-person juries and a religious zoning dispute involving a Kentucky Catholic church. The justices will hear arguments Jan. 11-13 and Jan. 19-20, according to the court.
The session continues the justices’ busy term, which has already included emergency disputes over immigration and the southern border. Earlier this year, the court’s interim docket added several high-profile border wall and immigration cases to its agenda.
Supreme Court January arguments calendar
- Montoya Palacios v. Liggins (Jan. 11) – The court will consider whether a habeas corpus petition challenging civil immigration detention counts as a civil action under the Equal Access to Justice Act, which could allow a prevailing detainee to receive attorney fees if the government’s position lacked substantial justification.
- Apple Inc. v. Epic Games (Jan. 11) – The justices will weigh whether a party can be held in contempt for violating the spirit of an injunction that does not expressly cover the conduct at issue, or whether contempt requires breaching a clear and unambiguous order.
- RiseandShine Corp. v. Pepsico, Inc. (Jan. 12) – The court will decide if a trademark’s inherent strength is a question of law for a judge or a question of fact typically decided by a jury.
- Kian v. Florida (Jan. 13) – The case asks whether the Constitution guarantees a 12-person jury for defendants charged with serious felonies, a direct challenge to Florida’s practice of six-person juries in some criminal trials.
- Marschner v. Marschner (Jan. 19) – The issue is whether the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act, which excludes disability-based retirement pay and waived retirement pay from division, requires state courts to decline enforcement of a divorce settlement clause obligating a veteran to compensate an ex-spouse if later disability payments reduce retirement pay.
- Missionaries of Saint John the Baptist v. Frederic (Jan. 20) – The court will decide whether a land-use rule preventing a religious institution from building a religious structure on its own property imposes a substantial burden under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which extends protections for religious exercise in zoning and for incarcerated people.
The Supreme Court publishes its argument calendars and case summaries on its official docket. More information about these cases and briefing is available on the U.S. Supreme Court website.
The religious land-use case also turns on federal protections for faith communities and prisoners. Congress enacted the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act to give additional safeguards beyond the First Amendment.
