With the U.S. Supreme Court beginning its October 2018 term next month, we conduct our 34th annual review of the performance of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit over the past term, and briefly discuss the court’s decisions scheduled for review during the upcoming term.

The end of the October 2017 term brought the surprising announcement of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement, which took effect on July 31, 2018. Justice Kennedy’s retirement gives President Donald Trump his second opportunity to appoint a justice to the bench. Justice Kennedy’s potential replacement—Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit—is widely perceived to be a more conservative appointment than Justice Kennedy, who was nominated in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and has long been considered a critical swing vote on the court.