WASHINGTON, Oct 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court began its new term on Monday with arguments in a criminal sentencing case, setting out on a nine-month legal journey that will test how far its 6-3 conservative majority is willing to steer American law in a rightward direction.
The court also turned away a series of appeals in cases involving lawyers who pursued unsuccessful litigation to try to overturn former President Donald Trump's 2020 election loss, a long-shot candidate's bid to disqualify Trump from the 2024 election and videos secretly recorded by anti-abortion activists.
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Among the cases the court previously agreed to hear this term are major ones involving gun rights, the power of federal agencies, social media regulation, OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy settlement, the legality of Republican-drawn electoral districts and more.
The conservative justices have shown assertiveness in major rulings in the past two years. The court has ended its recognition of a constitutional right to abortion, expanded gun rights, restricted federal agency powers, rejected affirmative action in college admissions and broadened religious rights.
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Abortion could be front and center again for the justices this term as President Joe Biden's administration has asked them to hear its appeal of a lower court's ruling that would restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone.
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