( CNN ) -- The Supreme Court kicked its new term Monday , holding oral arguments and welcoming back a former colleague . The justices by law and tradition resumed their public sessions on the first Monday in October , after a three-month recess . They heard a pair of separate appeals dealing with age discriminations claims , and the legal fallout from a major investor `` Ponzi '' scheme by Texas financier Allen Stanford . Watching from the special visitor 's gallery was Sandra Day O'Connor , who served on the court from 1981-2006 . She maintains small chambers in the building and usually attends several oral arguments each term -- as an observer only . The court also issued a massive orders list , disposing of more than 2,100 pending appeals that had been piling up over the summer . Among the cases the justices rejected for review : . Argentina v. NML Capital , Ltd. ( 12-1494 ) - Whether Argentina broke a contractual promise to treat all bondholders equally , as it faced repayments from its 2001 default on the national debt . The South American nation and some hedge funds have been battling for years in court over the refusal of some investors to accept two debt restructuring offers . Federal courts had said Argentina could not settle its sovereign debt obligations until it also paid the holdouts . The high court 's refusal to intervene now does not preclude a future appeal , as the case moves forward in the lower courts . Big Sky Colony , Inc. v. Montana Department of Labor and Industry ( 12-1191 ) - Whether a religious group can claim an exemption to provide workman 's compensation insurance to its members . The Hutterite Christian community of farmers holds all possessions in common and have limited contact with the larger society . Al-Marri v. Berkebile ( 13-105 ) - A former `` enemy combatant '' held by the United States again asked the court to answer whether a civilian arrested in the United States could be held indefinitely in military custody -- without charges . After his 2001 arrest in Illinois , Qatari native and graduate student Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri was held for years at a Navy brig north of Charleston , South Carolina . He was accused , but never charged , with being an al-Qaeda `` sleeper agent . '' His lawyers challenged his continued incarceration . The issue now was whether al-Marri can relitigate his claims as he sits in a federal prison . Jeffries v. U.S. ( 12-1185 ) - Challenge over what constitutes a `` threat . '' Franklin Delano Jeffries II was involved a decade-long custody dispute with his ex-wife . On the eve of a court hearing , he uploaded a YouTube video where he sang his composition , `` Daughter 's Love '' and went off on tirades : `` And when I come to court this better be the last time . I 'm not kidding at all , I 'm making this video public . 'Cause if I have to kill a judge or a lawyer or a woman I do n't care . Take my child and I 'll take your life . I 'm not kidding , judge , you better listen to me . '' He was later convicted of making threats to a public official . In re Warren Hill ( 12-10469 ) - Lawyers for a Georgia death row inmate had asked the high court to hears claims of his mental retardation . The original Writ of Habeas Corpus was unusual , bypassing lower court review with a direct appeal to the justices . His supporters claim Hill 's IQ is only 70 , making him ineligible for lethal injection . His planned executions in February and July were stayed at the last moment . Hill was convicted of the 1986 murder of his girlfriend , who was shot 11 times . He was then given a death sentence four years later , after fatally beating a fellow inmate with a nail-studded board as the victim slept .
Montana Department of Labor and Industry resumes its work after a first-day recess . Former Justice Franklin Delano returned to hear three-month argument . Court also disposed of more than 2,100 appeals that had piled up over first-day .