The cases heard by the United States Supreme Court may soon be televised. The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved of a bill that has been passed onto the rest of the Senate. There is potential that, eventually, this bill could become law. If so, then you might be able to watch the case about the Affordable Care Act on TV as it happens.
The Justices of the Supreme Court have, in the past, been opposed to having TV cameras in their courtroom. They feel that having television cameras there, while a case is being heard, would be disruptive. The Supreme Court sometimes releases audio of portions of some cases, after they have been heard, but, they have never allowed video of cases to be recorded or released to the general public.
In November of 2011, several Senators and Representatives expressed interest in having the cases heard by the Supreme Court be televised. Primarily, this is so that Americans will be able to know what is said when the Supreme Court hears five and a half hours of oral arguments about some of the more controversial aspects of the Affordable Care Act in March of this year. This case is, without a doubt, the most important health insurance related case that will be heard this year.
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Judge John Roberts. Senator Grassley suggested that the court should at least consider providing live audio and video of the court proceedings for this landmark case. Senator Grassley said:
“The constitutional questions presented in the case are momentous. The public has a right to witness the legal arguments likely to be presented in the case.”
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has backed the request by Senator Grassley. Pelosi said:
“When the Affordable Care Act is placed before the highest court in our country, all Americans will have a stake in the debate; therefore, all American should have access to it.” She went on to say: “Openness and transparency are essential to the success of our democracy, and in this historical debate, we must ensure the ability of our citizens to take part”.
This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bipartisan bill that, if passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives, will require TV coverage of all of the court’s open sessions. This would apply to all cases heard by the Supreme Court, including the upcoming case involving the Affordable Care Act. The only exception would be if the Justices of the Supreme Court decide by a majority vote that televising a particular case would violate due process rights of the people before the panel.
Image by Hayden Judd on Flickr