⁍ With eight justices rather than the usual nine, the court started a term due to run through next June.

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⁍ Chief Justice John Roberts paid tribute to Ginsburg, calling her a ‘dear friend and treasured colleague’
Roberts said that a memorial service will at some point be held in the courtroom.

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⁍ The first oral argument of the term centered on a system used by the state of Delaware that requires some of its courts to be ideologically balanced.

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– The Supreme Court kicked off its new term on Monday, its first since the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Reuters reports that Chief Justice John Roberts began the new term by paying tribute to the late Ginsburg, calling her a “dear friend and treasured colleague.” He said a memorial service will be held at some point. The new term’s first case was an appeal by the state of Delaware to defend a law requiring that at least half of its judges be affiliated with a single political party. The state also requires that judges in its courts be affiliated with one of the two major parties in the state. The justices were arguing the case via teleconference because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the second case of the term, Texas and New Mexico were arguing over rights to the waters of the Pecos River, which runs through both states. A group of Democratic-led states is trying to preserve the Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare, while Republican-led states and Trump’s administration are trying to strike it down. Two big cases are scheduled for November. On Nov. 10, the court is due to hear arguments in a case in which a group of Democratic-led states including California and New York are striving to preserve the 2010 Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare. Trump has said he wants Barrett to be confirmed before Election Day so she could cast a decisive vote in any election-related dispute, potentially in his favor. He has said he expects the Supreme Court to decide the outcome of the election.