The Supreme Court's new term starting Monday is set to be a landmark one, with major rulings possible on hot-button issues like gay marriage, voting rights and affirmative action. On Monday, the court heard a case challenging the reach of a 1789 law that lets U.S. companies be sued for human rights violations that occur abroad, and the justices appeared ready to crack down on suits filed under the law. Justice Samuel Alito questioned whether such suits — like one that claims a U.S. oil company was complicit with the Nigerian government in abuses in the oil-rich Niger Delta — belonged in American courts, suggesting the court could shield some businesses from such litigation. Another of the first big cases on the high court's docket will be a challenge to the University of Texas' use of affirmative action. In its new term, the court could also revisit a key component of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and is already expected to hear challenges to the denial of federal benefits to same-sex couples and possibly California's gay marriage ban.
