Welcome to this edition of Supreme Court Brief. The justices will jumpstart their November-December oral argument session on Monday to begin closing out the calendar year. 

The court has been steadily adding to its list of cases in recent weeks, including an orders list last Monday that included grants of certiorari, or review, in three new cases, two of which are consolidated. The twin cases involve a dispute over how much money the federal government owes tribes that elect to run their own health services, rather than rely on those operated by the Indian Health Service. It's a case with millions of dollars at stake for tribal healthcare, an area that both the government and tribes agree is severely underfunded. I wrote about the new cases for the National Law Journal here.

Also on Monday, the court took up a case about a steep sentencing enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act that has divided the lower courts and led to a 180-degree turn from the Department of Justice. At bottom, Erlinger v. U.S., asks whether judges, or juries, must determine whether someone qualifies for a longer prison sentence due to their criminal record.