Last Month at the Supreme Court | November 2025

Last Month at the Supreme Court^®returns for its third season to bring you the Dykema Appellate & Critical Motion Practice’s coverage of the 2025 Term! The publication delivers in-depth analysis of landmark cases and significant certiorari grants shaping the Court’s current Term.

The Term is already underway with consequential cases testing the contours of civil, criminal, and constitutional protections across the legal spectrum. Check out our November 2025 edition as our team explores the defining issues capturing the Court’s attention this fall, including:

• • The constitutionality of a state’s ban on conversion therapy
  • The scope of a criminal defendant’s right to confer with counsel during trial recess
  • Whether state laws restricting participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports violate the Equal Protection Clause or Title IX
  • The breadth of presidential authority to remove officials from independent regulatory agencies
  • The reach of the Federal Arbitration Act’s transportation-worker exemption

Take a few moments to read—or listen to—our short summaries for helpful insights into how these cases may influence future litigation, regulation, administrative enforcement, business decisions, and strategic decision-making across industries.

For more information, please contact Chantel Febus, James Azadian, Kyle Asher, Mark Magyar, Monika Harris, Ryan VanOver, David Ter-Petrosyan, or Sadie Betting.

Supreme Court Hears First Amendment Challenge to Colorado Conversion Therapy Ban

On October 7, 2025, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Chiles v. Salazar, a case that tests the extent of First Amendment protections for regulated professionals. After a divided Tenth Circuit panel rejected a challenge to Colorado’s so-called Minor Conversion Therapy Law (MCTL), C.R.S. §§ 12-245-101, 12-245-202, the Court is now positioned to decide “whether a law that censors certain conversations between counselors and their clients based on the viewpoints expressed regulates conduct or violates the Free Speech Clause.”

Read the full synopsis here.  

Supreme Court Weighs Prohibition on Criminal Defense Attorney-Client Communication

On October 6, 2025, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Villarreal v. Texas (No. 24-557) to consider a constitutional question that could significantly affect criminal defendants’ Sixth Amendment protections. The Justices are poised to decide whether a trial court violates the Sixth Amendment right to counsel by prohibiting the defendant from discussing his or her own testimony with counsel during an overnight trial recess before being dismissed as a witness. 

Read the full synopsis here.

Grant Alerts

Notable Business Cases the Court Granted Last Month.

Read the full list here.