Overview

• Speaking Sept. 25 at Catholic University, Justice Clarence Thomas said precedents are not "the gospel" and criticized rote reliance on stare decisis, invoking an "orangutan driving the train" metaphor.
• The Court will hear Louisiana v. Callais on Oct. 15, a redistricting case that could curtail Section 2 Voting Rights Act challenges and potentially upend the 1986 Thornburg v. Gingles framework.
• In December, the justices will hear Trump v. Slaughter, a dispute over removing an FTC commissioner without cause that could lead to overturning Humphrey's Executor and broaden presidential control over independent agencies.
• A petition asking the Court to revisit the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges marriage ruling is pending, though the justices have not decided whether to take the case.
• Thomas’s views follow his Dobbs concurrence urging reconsideration of substantive due process precedents, and Justice Elena Kagan recently warned in a dissent that the Court is "raring" to overturn Humphrey's Executor after allowing the president to fire the last Democratic FTC commissioner on an emergency basis.