On October 2, 2017, the Supreme Court begins a new term. The 2016 term saw a number of compromise decisions, as the Court operated without a ninth justice for most of the term. But in April, Neil Gorsuch joined the Court, and a conservative majority delivered a victory for religious freedom in the long-awaited case of Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comey. While 2016–2107 was not a blockbuster term with numerous high-profile cases, the Court decided important cases involving legislative redistricting in North Carolina and Virginia, property rights in Murr v.