Justices back at court for new term

The Supreme Court returned to the courtroom Monday for the start of a momentous new term, after a nearly 19-month absence because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Abortion, guns and religion all are on the agenda for a court with a rightward tilt, including three justices appointed by former President Donald Trump.

Chief Justice John Roberts was in his usual place in the center chair and Justice Clarence Thomas, the court’s longest-serving member, was to his right. But almost everything else was a little different for a court that, like the rest of the country, still is dealing with the virus.

Inside the courtroom, eight of the nine justices took the bench at 10 a.m. EDT. Justice Brett Kavanaugh participated remotely from his home after testing positive for COVID -19 late last week, his voice echoing in the courtroom when he had a question to ask while his high-backed chair sat empty. Kavanaugh, who was vaccinated in January, is showing no symptoms, the court said. All the other justices also have been vaccinated.

Monday was also the first time that new Justice Amy Coney Barrett participated in arguments in the courtroom, despite nearly a year on the court as its most junior member.

Only about 50 people were in attendance — lawyers involved in the cases, reporters who regularly cover the court, retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, some of the justices’ spouses and some court employees. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the only justice who wore a mask. Sotomayor, who has had diabetes since childhood, is the only one of the justices with a known chronic condition.

With the building closed to the public, the court’s hallways, normally bustling on mornings when the court is in session, were eerily quiet. A portrait of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died just over a year ago, hangs in a main corridor, directly across from her friend and colleague who died in 2016, Justice Antonin Scalia.

Monday was the first time the public was able to listen live to courtroom proceedings, via a link on the court’s wesbite. The court first allowed live audio for the telephonic arguments it conducted in 2020. Those who listened in heard Thomas ask questions, a practice he began during the telephonic arguments. Before that, it had been years since he asked a question in the courtroom. His colleagues appeared to defer to him Monday, as Thomas asked the first questions in the day’s two cases — a water fight between Tennessee and Mississippi and a dispute over an enhanced prison term for a repeat offender.