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The discussion is set for noon Wednesday (Sept. 16) in Weems Auditorium of the Khayat Law Center. It is free and open to the public.

The panel will discuss several cases set to appear before the court, ranging from Second Amendment gun ownership and environmental issues to the First Amendment and property usage.

"The biggest Supreme Court cases of the term are a huge part of the discourse in the legal profession and in the country as a whole," said Martin Edwards, associate professor of . "It's the Supreme Court because it decides the most controversial and impactful cases."

The cases, topics that will be discussed and panel experts include:

• Apple v. Epic; technology; Brian Downing, assistant professor of law
• Grand v. City of University Heights, Ohio; property rights and the First Amendment; Jade Craig, assistant professor of law
• Suncor Energy (USA) Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County; environmental law; David W. Case, professor of law and Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens & Cannada Lecturer in Law
• Viramontes v. Cook County; gun ownership; Martin Edwards
• International Partners v. Ferguson; jurisdiction; Ann Tweedy, professor of law.

Edwards will talk about the Second Amendment case Viramontes v. Cook County, which looks at whether the Second Amendment protects the right to own an AR-15.

"Because the case is probably going to set out the test for types of firearms – and other weapons or similar things – that can and cannot be banned, it will impact a lot of state and federal laws in place that restrict particular types of guns," he said.

"For gun owners, it could expand, or not, the types of guns they can buy. For gun control advocates, it will limit, or not, the regulatory tools they have to pursue legislation or regulations."

Case will discuss the Suncor Energy case and whether state causes of action such as fraud and public nuisance can be used to sue energy companies for their contributions to climate change, leading to increased flooding, heat waves and droughts.

"The primary reason people are interested in this case is to find out whether the Supreme Court is going to rule that federal preemption law precludes the more than 30 pending cases in which state, tribal and local government plaintiffs are pursuing climate change-focused claims based on state tort law against energy companies seeking to hold those companies responsible for damages caused by the impacts of climate change," he said.

The decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court in these cases and more have the potential to affect everyone.

"People should attend so that they can learn about important cases that the Supreme Court will be considering this year and next year that could affect their lives and their constitutional rights," Craig said.

Top: The U.S. Supreme Court is set to take up a number of cases this fall that will affect the rights of millions of Americans. Experts from the School of Law will preview several of these cases at a Constitution Day observance, set for noon Wednesday (Sept. 16) in Weems Auditorium. Adobe Stock photo