Supreme Court turns down appeals from Arctic and Epstein scammer Ghislaine Maxwell, and an Arizona tribe claiming title to sacred land

The US Supreme Court began its new term Monday by issuing a list of orders rejecting dozens of petitions for review, many of them high-profile cases that had accumulated over the summer recess.

The justices had met privately on Sept. 29 to consider which cases to add to their 2025–26 docket. Although the Court granted review in five new cases on Friday, Monday’s order list did not expand the docket further. The justices denied review in a range of cases involving criminal procedure, gun rights, social media censorship, and land claims.

Among the most notable denials:

• Maxwell v. United States — The court refused to hear an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, the notorious longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, who challenged her federal conviction for sex trafficking minors. Maxwell argued that her prosecution violated a prior non-prosecution agreement between Epstein and federal authorities, but lower courts rejected her claim. SCOTUS rejected her appeal. Maxwell is known by many for her so-called expertise in Arctic climate issues, having been an invited speaker at a major Arctic conference in 2014 at the invitation of former Anchorage Daily News owner Alice Rogoff.
• Missouri v. United States — The court declined to revive a Missouri law that barred state and local police from enforcing certain federal firearms regulations. The state argued that federal restrictions on gun ownership violated the Second Amendment. Lower courts had struck down the law as unconstitutional, ruling that states cannot nullify federal gun laws.
• Mumford v. Iowa — Justices turned away an appeal from an Iowa woman who challenged the constitutionality of a police dog’s search of her vehicle. The case questioned whether a drug-sniffing dog’s alert from inside a partially open car window violated the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches.
• Loomer v. Zuckerberg — Conservative commentator and former congressional candidate Laura Loomer’s lawsuit against major social media platforms was also denied review. Loomer alleged that companies including Facebook, Twitter, and Google had coordinated to suppress conservative speech.
• Apache Stronghold v. United States, a dispute over the transfer of land in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest to a mining company. A Native American group have argued that the land is sacred and that the transfer violates their religious rights.

The new term officially began Oct. 6. The Court’s next order list is expected in mid-October.

Video of Ghislaine Maxwell and her TerraMar nonprofit appearing at the 2014 Arctic Circle conference, in which she starts her remarks by commenting on how important the weather is: