Justices Object To Live Steaming Of Supreme Court Cases

By Kayleigh Harvey

Some Congressional Republicans are asking the Supreme Court provide live streaming of court cases for the general public to see on its website.

Receiving 19 million hits last January, the Supreme Court website allows the public to see transcripts of oral arguments hours after hearings have concluded. Audio footage is not released until after the Supreme Court ends its session and goes into recess.

Urged by Congressman John Culberson (R-TX) to allow video feeds of oral arguments to be accessible on the website, there was hesitation in the response of Justices Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer.

“We have discussed [providing live video feed], and discussed it and discussed it,” said Thomas. But, “The court objects change,” and there is fear that it would “diminish the institution and the process.”

The website development would see the majority of control for the website brought in-house, which Justice Thomas said was “the next logical step,” as it would “increase efficiency and effectiveness.”

Justice Breyer said, “Judiciary work is much more transparent than people realize,” Adding that most of the work that the Justices do lies in reading legal briefs, which “are boring to most people except to a judge…Most of what we do does not involve the two people[lawyers presenting to the court] in front of us. It involves the 300 million people not in the courtroom.”

The Court is asking Congress for just over $89 million, a $1.08 million increase from last year’s budget.

For more go to: www.supremecourtus.gov