The Supreme Court of the United States is wrapping up its October Term 2024-25, with the final opinions in argued cases expected to be announced on Friday, June 27, 2025. This marks the culmination of a busy term that has seen the Court tackle a range of complex legal issues, delivering significant rulings and setting the stage for future deliberations.
On Thursday, June 26, the Court released several notable decisions. In a 6-3 ruling, the justices sided with a death row inmate, holding that he could bring a constitutional challenge to a Texas state law concerning DNA testing. Justice Sonia Sotomayor authored the majority opinion in this significant decision. On the same day, the Court also ruled against Planned Parenthood, rejecting its attempt to sue South Carolina over its exclusion from the state’s Medicaid program. By a 6-3 vote, the justices determined that Planned Parenthood and a South Carolina woman lacked the necessary standing to bring their claim. Additionally, the Court released an opinion in Hewitt v. United States, addressing whether the First Step Act’s sentencing reduction guidelines apply to individuals sentenced before the Act’s enactment but whose sentences were later vacated.
As the term concludes, six cases remain for the Court to decide. These include high-profile matters such as Trump v. CASA, which questions the government’s authority to implement its birthright citizenship order nationwide, and Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, concerning whether religious families at public schools have a First Amendment right to opt out of instruction that includes LGBTQ+ themes. Other pending cases are Mahmoud v. Taylor, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, Louisiana v. Callais, and Federal Communications Commission v. Consumers’ Research. Legal observers, including those at SCOTUSblog, will be live blogging the final announcements, which are expected at 10 a.m. EDT.
Much of the detailed coverage of the Supreme Court’s proceedings comes from specialized legal news outlets like SCOTUSblog. Launched on October 1, 2002, by Supreme Court litigator Tom Goldstein and former litigator Amy Howe, SCOTUSblog has established itself as a premier source for information on the Court. It comprehensively tracks cases from the certiorari stage through the merits stage, often publishing information on the Court’s actions before other news sources. Historically sponsored by Bloomberg Law, SCOTUSblog was acquired by The Dispatch in April 2025, marking a new chapter in its ownership. Despite this change, the platform maintains its commitment to providing unbiased, in-depth coverage, a principle reflected in its ad-free mobile application experience.
SCOTUSblog has garnered significant acclaim for its journalistic excellence, receiving the prestigious Peabody Award in 2013 – the first blog ever to do so. It also earned the ABA’s Silver Gavel award in 2010 and the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi prize in 2012 for its deadline reporting on the Affordable Care Act decision. While it has faced some past criticism regarding potential conflicts of interest related to its founders’ legal practices, the blog implemented firewalls to ensure separation between the firm and its editorial content.
Beyond the immediate term, the Supreme Court’s docket continues to feature cases with broad implications. For instance, the Court is set to hear a groundbreaking case concerning the nation’s first religious charter school, St. Isidore, a Catholic online school in Oklahoma, challenging a state ruling. Another closely watched issue involves the constitutionality of the law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a shutdown, as highlighted by Empirical SCOTUS, another valuable resource for data-driven analysis of the Court. Cases like United States v. Skrmetti, which challenges a Tennessee law banning medical treatments for gender dysphoria in transgender adolescents, underscore the diverse and impactful nature of the Court’s work.
As the Supreme Court closes out its current term, the decisions rendered and the cases yet to be heard will undoubtedly shape legal precedents and societal norms for years to come. The diligent work of legal journalists and analysts remains crucial in demystifying these complex proceedings and keeping the public informed about the highest court in the land.
