The US Supreme Court returns from its summer recess on Monday with regulation of "ghost guns" -- firearms made from kits -- and medical care for transgender youth on a docket that risks being gate-crashed in the event of a contested presidential election. David Cole, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which frequently brings cases before the highest court, said he expects "a much quieter term than we've had in the last couple of years." "But you know, that could change if the presidential election is close and disputed," Cole added in a reference to potential lawsuits stemming from the November 5 White House contest between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.
In a landmark decision last term in a case filed by Trump, who is charged with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election, the conservative-dominated court ruled 6-3 that a former president has broad immunity from criminal prosecution. The justices also dismissed a Colorado court ruling that would have barred Trump from the November ballot because of his role in the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol by his supporters. One of the first cases the justices will hear -- on Tuesday -- involves ghost guns: firearms sold online or in stores as "buy build shoot" kits that can be easily assembled at home.
The court will hear a challenge from gun manufacturers and owners to a rule from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that requi.
