The US Supreme Court building in Washington, DC, on October 2. Tristen Rouse/CNN

Just before the Supreme Court handed down its final crush of opinions at the end of its last term in June, Chief Justice John Roberts strolled onto a stage in Washington and extolled the virtues of taking it easy.

He told the audience that the high court’s summer break wasn’t just a vacation for the justices – it also gave them time to cool off from the clashes that arose in the term’s final weeks, so they could return in the fall ready to face new controversies, without the old baggage.

“That break,” the chief justice said at the time , “is critical to maintaining a level balance.”

The nine justices will retake their seats behind their mahogany bench on Monday to start a momentous new term after a sum

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