Supreme Court Opens Its October 2026 Term

The Supreme Court opened its October 2026 Term yesterday, issuing its traditional long list of certiorari denials. Yesterday’s 42-page Order List includes a denial of certiorari in Peterson v. Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue, (Docket No. 25-1210, cert. denied 10/5/2026). In the case, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims by eight firefighters that the Snohomish fire department violated Title VII and Washington state law by refusing to accommodate their requests for religious exemptions from the state’s Covid vaccine mandate for all healthcare providers. (See prior posting.)

The Court already has four religion cases on its Merits Docket for this Term. They are (links are to each case’s SCOTUSblog page): 

• St. Mary Catholic Parish, et al. v. Roy. (25‑581)  
• International Partners for Ethical Care, Inc. v. Ferguson (25-840) 
• Missionaries of Saint John the Baptist, Inc. v. Frederic (25-1131)
• Grand v. City of University Heights (25-965)