Good morning and welcome to Supreme Court Brief! The justices launched the December argument session with two cases on public corruption, and a key building announcement. Beginning Dec. 1, on days when the justices are not in session, the public may enter the building from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., excluding weekends and federal holidays. The court is gradually loosening security and pandemic-era restrictions. The Alito-Hobby Lobby story continues with an exchange of letters between the court's legal counsel and two members of Congress. There is a "first" happening Wednesday when 10 members of the National Trans Bar Association are admitted to the Supreme Court bar. And scroll down to read the somewhat "tongue-in-cheek" lament by Columbia Law's Michael Dorf on what the court's "history" test means for constitutional law exams.

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Justice Samuel Alito. Justice Samuel Alito. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM