[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] begins its fall term Monday with oral arguments [SCOTUS materials] in cases concerning the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act and the state of Washington's primary election system. Among the high-profile cases the Court will consider during October Term 2007 [case list, PDF] is Boumediene v. Bush [JURIST report], consolidated with Al Odah v. United States, where the Court will consider the constitutionality of the habeas corpus-stripping provisions of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 [JURIST news archive], which prevent "enemy combatants" held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] from challenging their detentions in federal court.

The Court has also agreed to hear [JURIST report] a challenge to the lethal injection [JURIST news archive] protocols used by 37 states. In Baze v. Rees, the Court will consider whether a commonly used three-drug "cocktail" violates the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment because death row inmates suffer pain during their executions. The Court is additionally due to consider the legality of an Indiana law that requires voters to present photo identification as a prerequisite to voting, one of several controversial voter ID laws [JURIST news archive] adopted by states in recent years. The New York Times has more. Reuters has additional coverage.

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