SCOTUS turns away 1,600 cases as new term opens

The Supreme Court of the United States opened its new term on Monday by turning away appeals in roughly 1,600 cases the justices reviewed over the summer. As is typical, the justices did not comment in rejecting the cases. Among the highlights, the court:

— Left in place a lower court ruling that made it tougher for the federal government to prosecute people for trading on leaked inside information.

— Declined to hear an appeal from former University of Virginia lacrosse player George W. Huguely V convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend.

— Left in place lower court rulings that dismissed the city of San Jose's antitrust claims against Major League Baseball, which blocked the northern California city's bid to lure baseball's Athletics from Oakland.

— Rejected an appeal from Indian tribes and Jim Thorpe's sons to move the remains of the athletic great from Pennsylvania to Oklahoma.

— Declined to hear an appeal from New York Rep. Charles Rangel seeking to overturn his 2010 censure for financial wrongdoing.

— Refused to hear a dispute over the constitutionality of a law that gives Chrysler dealerships — shut down during the company's 2009 bankruptcy — a chance to be restored to the dealer network through federal arbitration.

— Declined to hear a challenge to New York state's requirement that all children be vaccinated before they can attend public school.

— Turned away an appeal from Kelly Rindfleisch, a former aide to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who was convicted of campaigning on taxpayers' time.

— Refused to hear an appeal by motorists who challenged discounted bridge tolls offered to select groups of New York City residents who cross the city's Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

— Left in place the death sentence for 72-year-old death row inmate Brandon Astor Jones in Georgia, who was convicted of killing a convenience store clerk in suburban Atlanta in 1979.

— Rebuffed an appeal from Kenneth Fults, an African-American man on Georgia's death row who said racial bias deprived him of a fair trial because a white juror used a racial slur.

— Rejected an appeal from Quicken Loans over a $2.17 million punitive-damage award stemming from a loan the company made to a West Virginia borrower for more than her house was worth.