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Constitution in the Headlines

Supreme Court in Review: Another Landmark Term

September 17, 2026

At the National Constitution Center, we value civil dialogue, which empowers students to speak about constitutional and historical topics in ways that remain civil, respectful, and reflective. As you prepare to discuss these topics in your classroom, we encourage you to establish norms such as:

  • Stay calm
  • Listen patiently
  • Listen actively
  • Don’t speak twice until everybody has spoken once

You can find more support for establishing norms and civil dialogue practices in our Civil Dialogue Toolkit.

Media Asset

National Constitution Center’s Constitution Daily Blog post: The Supreme Court in Review: Another Landmark Term, by Scott Bomboy

Big Constitutional Question(s)

How does the Supreme Court decide cases? How do its decisions affect other branches of government, as well as the general public?

Headline Story

On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court issued its final opinions of the term. The session was marked by several landmark decisions on issues ranging from birthright citizenship to presidential power. The new Supreme Court term will begin on Oct. 5, 2026. As of July 9, the justices had already granted for 20 cases to be argued, and has continued to consider petitions in the months following. The court heard 59 cases in the October 2025 term.

This Constitution in the Headlines will explore the highlights from selected cases and opinions from the last Supreme Court term. The cases decided include topics such as tariffs, immigration, elections, presidential powers, and voting rights, as well as constitutional questions involving the First Amendment, Second Amendment, Fourth Amendment, and Fourteenth Amendment.

Matters of Debate Over Article III, Section 1

Article III sets up the judiciary and affirms key principles like judicial independence. However, it leaves many key details—including how many justices serve on the court—to Congress. Federal judges also exercise the power of judicial review—the power to decide whether a given law or governmental action is unconstitutional. While there is no ‘judicial review’ clause of the Constitution, key constitutional sources like Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist No. 78 and Chief Justice Marshall’s landmark opinion in Marbury v. Madison (1803) explain how this power is consistent with the Constitution’s text, history, and structure.

Scholar

Constitutional Basis

What They Argued

Richard W. Garnett
(Notre Dame Law School)

The scope of “the judicial Power” vested by Article III, Section 1

Judicial review (courts striking down laws or actions that conflict with the Constitution) flows naturally from the job of interpreting and applying the law. But that power does not make courts supreme over the other branches; it only means every branch answers to the Constitution. Garnett notes that the tension is real: when courts overturn choices made by elected officials, that can look less like the “weakest branch” Hamilton described and more like the final word.

David A. Strauss
(University of Chicago Law School)

How the federal court system established by Article III, Section 1 compares with how it functions today

The framers pictured a single Supreme Court, with everything else left to Congress’ discretion. Strauss argues that the gap between design and practice is what produced today’s sprawling system: Congress could have chosen not to create any federal courts beyond the Supreme Court at all, but instead built a three-tier judiciary of nearly 800 federal judges, hearing cases the framers assumed would mostly stay in state court.

Reflection Questions

  1. How does knowing the debates over the interpretation of Article III, Section 1, affect your understanding of how the Supreme Court functions?
  2. Which case(s) from the October 2025 term outlined in the blog post were you already familiar with? Which were you least familiar with? What are some things that surprised you about the cases that were unfamiliar to you?
  3. Select three cases to further reflect on. How might the decisions of each of these cases affect other branches and levels of government, and the greater public? Why is it important to understand the role of the Supreme Court in the context of all three branches of government?

Extension Activities

  1. Justices use different methods of constitutional interpretation when they decide The NCC’s Constitution 101 has activities and videos to help you understand the methods and how they are applied to the cases from the October 2025 term. Review the seven methods, watch the Constitution 101 video about judicial interpretation, and answer the questions provided to enhance your understanding.
  2. Select three of the cases from the Supreme Court’s October 2025 term covered in the blog post and research the decisions in more detail. Use the Window Notes protocol to outline the facts, ideas, questions, and connections about the cases as you complete your research. Then, write a reflection about the cases, emphasizing the methods of interpretation used in the opinions.
  3. Select one of the cases from the October 2025 term and create an infographic (digital or hard copy) that highlights:
    1. The name of the case and its decision date
    2. The justices and how they voted
    3. Key quotes and ideas from each opinion (majority, dissent, and concurrence, as applicable)
    4. Visuals to support what the case was about
    5. A brief note about the impact of the decision on other branches of government and the public
  4. Classroom-Ready Resource: Dueling Sources – Federalist No. 78 vs. Brutus No. 15

Beyond the Headlines

NCC Resources

Classroom Resources

 
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