The Supreme Court has another round of major cases lined up for December, with oral arguments expected on the death penalty, campaign spending, religious liberty, and presidential power.
One case in the month will be on Dec. 8, Trump v. Slaughter, which focuses on the president’s ability to remove high-level bureaucrats without interference from Congress.
This case arose from Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter alleging that President Donald Trump violated federal law by firing her without cause.
Lower courts have repeatedly blocked Trump’s firings while pointing to the Supreme Court’s 1935 decision in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States.
That precedent backed Congress’s ability to set limits on the reasons presidents could use for firing members of certain agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The Supreme Court is expected to consider whether that precedent should be overturned. Its eventual decision could impact how Trump and future presidents carry out their agenda.
A related case involving Trump’s attempt to fire a member of the Federal Reserve is expected in January 2026.
Along with Trump’s tariffs, which are set for oral argument in November, these cases mark three oral arguments the Supreme Court has already set for Trump’s cases in the 2025–2026 term.
The court’s recently released schedule shows multiple hot-button issues coming before it as well.
The First Amendment in particular is getting a closer look in a case about a pro-life pregnancy center and another involving a controversial street preacher.
Scheduled for Dec. 2, First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin involves a faith-based pregnancy center’s objection to the state of New Jersey attempting to subpoena the names of its donors.
The Supreme Court is set to consider whether demanding those names would chill the centers’ First Amendment rights of association with donors, as well as how First Choice can sue over that issue.
In National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Committee, Republicans are fighting another battle over donor money, but in a different way.
The case, which was initially brought by then-Senate candidate J.D. Vance, questions whether a federal campaign finance law violates the First Amendment by restricting coordinated spending between a party and a candidate for office. Oral argument is scheduled for Dec. 9.
Yet another religious case involving the First Amendment is coming on Dec. 3.
More specifically, Olivier v. City of Brandon is prompting the court to consider how Americans can go about enforcing their right to free speech.
Street preacher Gabriel Olivier was charged with violating a Mississippi city ordinance limiting where people could protest.
After he pleaded no contest and was sentenced, he tried filing a civil suit alleging that the government had violated his civil rights.
The Supreme Court is set to consider whether he should be able to bring that lawsuit or whether his success in that lawsuit would imply his prior conviction was invalid.
Another case, known as Hamm v. Smith, is set for Dec. 10 and focuses on the Eighth Amendment’s bar on cruel and unusual punishment.
In 2002, the Supreme Court interpreted the amendment as prohibiting executions of individuals who were intellectually disabled.
In the case headed to the Supreme Court in December, the justices are expected to wrestle with how courts should weigh multiple IQ scores in determining whether criminals are disabled enough to avoid the death penalty.
Other cases coming before the court focus on asylum claims for immigrants and copyright infringement.
Correction: A previous version of this article mischaracterized the Supreme Court’s focus in the case First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
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