The Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States says its studies show “considerable, bipartisan support” of term limits for the high court, the ABA Journal reports. President Joe Biden assembled the commission in April to study Supreme Court reform. The idea most often proposed is to create staggered 18-year terms for the justices, which would be timed to open up a seat every two years. Materials from a recent commission meeting point out that the U.S. is the only major constitutional democracy with no retirement age or term limits and the average length of a justice’s term has gone from around 15 years in the late 1960s to around 26 years for justices who have left the court since 1970. The commission will send a final report to Biden next month.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor spoke at a virtual event earlier this month and applauded the court’s new format for arguments, in which the justices freely ask questions, but after an attorney’s time has expired, each justice may ask questions uninterrupted in order of seniority. The new process was adopted in part because studies showed that female justices were being interrupted at higher rates than male counterparts, she said. The studies had an “enormous impact” and led Chief Justice John Roberts to be “much more sensitive” to those who are interrupted. Sotomayor also called for greater professional diversity at the event. She noted that with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s passing, the court lost its only civil rights lawyer, and that none of the current justices have significant experience with civil rights, criminal defense, immigration or environmental law. CNN has more from her speech.

A bipartisan committee assembled by President Joe Biden to study potential reforms to the high court released its preliminary findings yesterday, The Hill reports. The committee noted “considerable” risks to court expansion, including the potential to undermine the high court’s legitimacy. The lengthy “discussion materials,” which are broken up into five sections, explore the arguments for and against adding justices to the high court, as well as other potential reforms. The committee met again today to discuss the preliminary findings, which were criticized by some liberal members for its treatment of the court expansion proposal. Two conservative members today resigned from the committee, but did not publicly give a reason for their departure.

A 36-member commission set up by President Joe Biden to study the U.S. Supreme Court was expected to release a draft report today, the White House announced. The commission will hold a public meeting tomorrow and a final report will be submitted to Biden in mid-November. The White House previously said that the commission's purpose is to “provide an analysis of the principal arguments in the contemporary public debate for and against Supreme Court reform, including an appraisal of the merits and legality of particular reform proposals," adding that commissioners would examine such options as term limits for justices, changing the size of the court and altering its case selection, rules and practices. CNN has more on the development.

The U.S. Supreme Court opened the first day of its new term with oral arguments in a 15-year dispute between the states of Tennessee and Mississippi. According to Reuters, the “justices expressed skepticism about Mississippi's claim that Tennessee is effectively stealing its water from an underground aquifer that runs beneath both states.” The Commercial Appeal provides historical context for the case. With the justices back together in the courthouse for the first time since the pandemic, several remote protocols remained in effect. A live audio feed of the arguments was available, justices took turns politely asking questions, and Justice Clarence Thomas (who almost never spoke during oral arguments in the past but participated in teleconferences) “quickly asked the first question of the new term.”

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Wednesday on the U.S. Supreme Court’s so-called “shadow docket,” a term that describes the process by which the court issues emergency orders and summary decisions. Committee Chair Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL, said in his opening statement that the shadow docket is undermining claims that the court is insulated from politics, and is being used for "more political and controversial decisions with results that appear on their face to be ideologically driven." Republicans on the committee said attacks on the court’s practices were “part of a concerted effort to intimidate and bully” the justices. The members also disagreed over the term “shadow docket” itself, the ABA Journal reports. Republicans said the term connotes something dark and scary. A law school professor called to testify before the group said the term is appropriate given the “unpredictable timing,” “lack of transparency” and “usual inscrutability” involved in these decisions.

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday agreed to hear five new cases during its October term, the Associated Press reports. Among them are a challenge to federal election law brought by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; an appeal by heirs of a German Jewish woman seeking to recover a valuable painting taken by the Nazis; and a plea by a Christian organization to have its flag displayed at Boston's City Hall. Reuters has a recap of cases the justices previously agreed to consider. Today, the court gathered for a ceremonial swearing-in for Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was confirmed in October 2000. The ceremony had been postponed due to the pandemic. Justice Brett Kavanaugh did not attend the ceremony due to testing positive for the coronavirus, the court announced today. Currently, he is showing no symptoms of the virus and has been fully vaccinated since January.

The U.S. Supreme Court has set a date to hear a Mississippi case that could pose a serious challenge to Roe v. Wade, NPR reports. Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization tests whether all state laws that ban pre-viability abortions are unconstitutional. The high court agreed to hear the case earlier this year and yesterday set the date for Dec. 1. The scheduling announcement comes weeks after the court declined to intervene in a new Texas law that bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected and awards private citizens $10,000 for successfully suing anyone receiving, performing or helping facilitate an abortion. According to the Associated Press, the first lawsuits under Texas’ new law have been filed against Dr. Alan Braid, who last week publicly revealed that he had defied the law. He is being sued by two former lawyers from Arkansas and Illinois.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer says he will retire on his own terms despite calls for him to step down. "I'm only going to say that I'm not going to go beyond what I previously said on the subject, and that is that I do not believe I should stay on the Supreme Court, or want to stay on the Supreme Court, until I die," he recently told National Public Radio. "And when exactly I should retire, or will retire, has many complex parts to it. I think I'm aware of most of them, and I am, and will consider them." Some want Breyer to retire now so President Biden can name a replacement while Democrats control the U.S. Senate.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to examine the U.S. Supreme Court's use of the so-called shadow docket, which refers to when the justices make decisions on emergency applications without full briefing or argument. The docket, critics argue, is increasingly being relied on in high-profile public policy disputes. The court recently used the truncated process to rule on significant disputes over immigration policy and federal eviction protections, and to leave intact a new Texas law that bans most abortions, The Hill reports. No date has been set yet for the hearing.