The Supreme Court begins its new term Oct. 5 with a docket that will determine whether states can ban AR-15-style rifles and whether oil companies can be sued for climate damages.

The justices have announced 25 cases for the term, which runs through June, with nearly three dozen more expected to be added in coming weeks. Six cases will reshape law on gun rights, climate litigation, voting, and criminal penalties.

On Dec. 2, the court will hear consolidated challenges to state and local "assault weapons" bans in *Viramontes v. Cook County* and *Grant v. Higgins*. The cases target laws in Cook County, Illinois, and Connecticut that prohibit AR-15 and similar semiautomatic rifles. A ruling will affect comparable restrictions in other states.

Pro-gun groups argue the bans violate the Second Amendment and conflict with federal law. Cook County and Connecticut defend the restrictions as constitutional, contending that AR-15-style weapons are "dangerous and unusual" and can be prohibited without undermining Second Amendment protections.

Gun rights advocates have won several Supreme Court victories over the past two decades and expect a favorable ruling here. A decision is due by June.

The court will also hear *Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County*, which determines whether Boulder County, Colorado, can sue oil companies for their role in climate change. The ruling will either enable similar lawsuits filed by climate advocates and Democratic jurisdictions across the country or block them as beyond states' authority.

Oil companies and the Justice Department argue that states and local jurisdictions lack power to regulate matters beyond their borders and that such authority rests exclusively with the federal government.

Other significant cases on the docket involve the Veterans' Judicial Review Act, which questions district courts' jurisdiction over constitutional challenges to acts affecting veterans' benefits, and whether the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee a 12-person jury trial for serious felony charges.