The Supreme Court opened a new term Monday, hearing oral arguments on a case that will decide whether states can eliminate the insanity defense in criminal prosecutions. Notably absent from the bench was Justice Clarence Thomas. Chief Justice Roberts said the 71-year-old was ill with an undisclosed illness. Eighty-six-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who received radiation treatment for a cancerous tumor over the summer, was present and asked the first question of the session.