The Supreme Court starts its new session Monday after a consequential term that saw landmark decisions on religious freedom, gun laws, environmental policy and overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion.

It also comes as more and more Americans have lost faith and confidence in the high court, according to a new Gallup survey.

“Last Supreme Court term was extraordinarily consequential,” Frederick Lawerence, Distinguished Lecturer at the Georgetown Law Center, told Spectrum News.

Perhaps the most consequential ruling was the high court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, which overturned Roe v. Wade. The ruling led to protests, states passing laws to curb access to abortion, President Joe Biden taking executive action to protect abortion access and a surge of support in special elections leading up to November's midterms.

The court’s controversial abortion ruling came on top of other high-profile decisions on guns and the environment, which may have played a role in some Americans raising questions about the legitimacy of the court.

An issue that's been raised by some followers of the court, centers around Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, who sat for an interview with the House Jan. 6 panel on Thursday. The committee has for months sought an interview with Thomas in an effort to know more about her role in trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn his election defeat. She texted with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin in the weeks after the election.

The extent of her involvement in the Capitol attack is unclear. In the days after The Associated Press and other news organizations called the presidential election for Biden, Thomas emailed two lawmakers in Arizona to urge them to choose “a clean slate of Electors” and “stand strong in the face of political and media pressure.” The AP obtained the emails earlier this year under the state’s open records law.

Thomas has repeatedly maintained that her political activities posed no conflict of interest with the work of her husband. Justice Thomas was the lone dissenting voice when the Supreme Court ruled in January to allow a congressional committee access to presidential diaries, visitor logs, speech drafts and handwritten notes relating to the events of Jan. 6.

There aren’t set rules for justices to recuse themselves from cases over a conflict of interest.

“I don't know how long the court can resist the pressure to say that we have to be more than just accountable to ourselves, we have to be accountable to the public,” Lawrence said. 

The Gallup poll also showed that 47% of Americans say they have "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of trust in the judicial branch of the federal government, an all-time low dating back to 1972, and a 20-point drop from 2020. In September, a Marquette law school poll found only 37% of Americans have "quite or a lot of confidence" in the court. 

These dynamics could play out again in one of the most-watched cases of this coming session involving affirmative action for which the court will consider a pair of lawsuits alleging the University of North Carolina and Harvard University discriminated against Asian American applicants.

While the court has generally previously upheld affirmative action — which is the consideration of race in college admission decisions — opponents are hoping that this time could be different.

“If this court were to reverse that now, it will look like yet again, change composition, change results," Lawrence said. "I think that’s going to question the legitimacy of the court on this very important social issue.”

The court will also tackle two cases involving Congressional redistricting maps, including an Alabama challenge being heard on Tuesday which raises the issue of racial gerrymandering and violations of the Voting Rights Act. Justices will also hear cases related to LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, animal welfare and potentially vaccine mandates.

Two noticeable changes to the court this fall are the addition of Ketanji Brown Jackson in her first term as an associate justice after replacing retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. The court will also be open to the public for the first time in two and half years since before the pandemic.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.