WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is starting a new term that is shaping up to be as important as the last one, with the prospect of major rulings about affirmative action, gay marriage and voting rights.
Three months after the court upheld President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, the same lineup of justices returns to the bench Monday morning.
Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s liberals in sustaining the health care law, drawing liberals’ plaudits and conservatives’ anger.
This term’s big cases seem likely to have Roberts in his more accustomed role of voting with his fellow conservatives and leave Justice Anthony Kennedy with his typically decisive vote in cases that otherwise split the court’s liberals and conservatives.
But Roberts will be watched closely for additional signs that he is becoming less ideologically predictable.
A fight over the University of Texas’ affirmative action program is the first blockbuster case on the court’s calendar, with argument scheduled for Oct. 10. Texas uses multiple factors, including community service, work experience, extracurricular activities, awards and race, to help fill the last 20 to 25 percent of the spots in its freshman classes. The outcome could further limit or even end the use of racial preferences in college admissions.
The court also is expected to confront gay marriage in some form. Several cases seek to guarantee federal benefits for legally married same-sex couples. A provision of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act deprives same-sex couples of a range of federal benefits available to heterosexual couples.
