In first, US Supreme Court to be broadcast live

After a pause occasioned by the coronavirus, the US Supreme Court will resume hearing cases today, but in a small revolution for the tradition-bound institution the justices will participate from home, with live audio broadcast on radio and television.

The move to greater transparency has been demanded for years in legal circles and was long ago adopted by many state and local courts; but for the Supreme Court, it took a pandemic to make it happen.

In normal times, the top US court meets in its stately neoclassical building directly across First Street from the US Capitol.

Two hundred seats in its marble hearing room are reserved for members of the public, who often line up for hours outside the building’s white-columned facade for the privilege of hearing the nine justices ponder issues that range from the arcane to the history-changing.

Today for the first time in history, several media outlets, including the Fox and C-Span networks, will broadcast live the exchanges between the justices, each still confined at home, and lawyers arguing cases.

The pandemic has forced the nine justices — including progressive Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an octogenarian who has been in fragile health — to telework for nearly two months.

For today’s hearing, the justices will take part by telephone. But with no cameras involved, they won’t have to wear their traditional black robes.

— AFP