Supreme court term has major gun rights, business cases

The nine-member panel now includes Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Appointed by President Barack Obama, she is the first justice named by a Democratic president in 15 years and the first Hispanic on the high court.

Sotomayor succeeded Justice David Souter, who retired in June. She generally is expected to vote with the three other liberals as Souter did.

"The 2009 term seems likely to produce important decisions on free speech, government accountability and criminal justice," Steven Shapiro of the American Civil Liberties Union said. "And it certainly will tell us more than we now know about the role that Justice Sotomayor will play on a Supreme Court that remains closely divided along ideological lines."

The term could reveal whether the five-member conservative majority led by Chief Justice John Roberts overturns past precedents on issues like corporate spending limits for congressional and presidential races.