Supreme Court's new term could see landmark rulings on abortion, guns and vouchers

For the first time in more than a year, the Supreme Court will convene in its crimson velvet-lined majestic chamber Monday to begin a new term and hear some of the most divisive issues of the day at a time when the Court's institutional legitimacy is under attack and the majority of the public doesn't approve of the job the justices are doing.

In the coming months the nine -- six appointed by Republican presidents and three by Democrats -- will tackle abortion, the Second Amendment, religious liberty and perhaps even affirmative action, all the while fending off calls from liberal interest groups to change the court's makeup.

Several of the justices have even begun an unusual campaign in recent weeks to convince the public that they are not -- as Justice Amy Coney Barrett said -- "political hacks," but are simply divided by their judicial philosophies.