First Monday Begins Ominous Term For Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 4, 2021 – Today marks the beginning of the new Supreme Court term, also known as “First Monday.” This term, the Supreme Court will hear cases that could eliminate people’s constitutional right to an abortion, roll back our nation’s gun safety laws, undermine public education, and attack the ability of government to protect the American people and the environment. 

The new term comes on the heels of several monumental rulings by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority: gutting the Voting Rights Act in Brnovich v. DNC, ending the CDC eviction moratorium, forcing President Biden to revive President Trump’s unlawful “Remain in Mexico” policy for refugees, and allowing Texas’s abortion ban to take effect. The Court also overturned decades of established precedent to make it harder for farmworkers to fight for better wages and working conditions in its Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid at the end of its last term. 

Alliance for Justice President Rakim Brooks issued the following statement: 

“Traditionally, First Monday has been celebrated as an opportunity to educate the public about the important role the Supreme Court plays in protecting the Constitution and upholding the rule of law. Not anymore. Dread is often the first thing we feel knowing the Supreme Court is back in session. And given the Court’s recent rulings allowing Texas’s abortion ban to take effect, gutting the Voting Rights Act, and undermining workers’ rights, Americans are right to fear what this current Court may do in its new term. Alliance for Justice will, as it has for more than 40 years, fight the Court’s extremism by keeping the American public focused on the importance of judges at every level of government. We will not cede an inch to this Court and will do everything in our power to force it to live up to its prized role in our society. Eventually, First Monday will again be a day of celebration.”