On Oct. 3, the U.S. Supreme Court began its 2022 Term welcoming the public back into the courtroom for the first time in two-and-a-half years. Beginning in January, 2023, or whenever the first opinions of the term are ready, the justices will resume the pre-pandemic tradition of reading summaries of their majority opinions from the bench.
A majority opinion is a judicial opinion agreed to by more than half of the members of the Court which sets forth the decision as well as an explanation of the rationale behind it. Reading the majority opinions from the bench will once again give dissenting justices the opportunity to set forth and underscore their disagreements with the majority.
Ever since the pandemic shut down the courtroom in March 2020, the Court has issued opinions exclusively on its website. The Court began livestreaming arguments in May of 2020. Even though the building is now open, those livestreams will continue, but majority opinion announcements will not be included in the livestreams.
2023 will begin as a very active year for the U.S. Supreme Court. The docket will include two cases concerning the role of affirmative action in college admissions, two cases that stand to have a profound impact on the way elections are conducted, and a significant case contesting current immigration policy.
