WASHINGTON -- After back-to-back terms ending in historic rulings that riveted the nation, the Supreme Court might have been expected to return to its usual diet of routine cases that rarely engage the public.
Instead, the court's new term, which starts Monday, will feature an extraordinary series of cases on consequential constitutional issues, including campaign contributions, abortion rights, affirmative action, public prayer and presidential power.
An unusually large number of the new cases put important precedents at risk.
The new term will include a run of cases on the structure of the political process, including ones on the balance of power between the branches of government and the role of money in politics.
One case, National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning, No. 12-1281, is a test of President Barack Obama's ability to bypass the Senate by making recess appointments. It has partisan overtones reminiscent of the clash over the constitutionality of his health care law.
A second case continues a signature project of the court, which has been subjecting campaign finance laws to skeptical scrutiny in a half-dozen decisions, including Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which in 2010 freed corporations and unions to spend without limit in candidate elections. The new case moves the court's focus from such independent spending to caps on direct contributions from individuals to candidates and political parties.
The court has two cases concerning abortion on its docket. One of them, McCullen v. Coakley, No. 12-1168, is a challenge to a Massachusetts law that restricted protests near reproductive health care facilities.
The second abortion-related case concerns whether states may limit the use of abortion-inducing drugs. The case, Cline v. Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice, No. 12-1094, has taken a detour to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which has been asked for a clarification.
The justices will soon decide whether to hear a new challenge to Obama's health care law. The cases concern the law's requirement that employers provide insurance coverage for contraception.
The justices are also quite likely to agree to hear a case on whether the police may search the phones of people they arrest.
The term will get off to a fast start, with the court hearing the campaign finance case Tuesday.
The coming term may not conclude in June with quite the same fireworks as the last two. But it has the potential to reshape American politics and individual liberties in profound ways.
By ADAM LIPTAK
The New York Times