MemeStreams | MemeStreams Discussion

Create an Account

This page contains all of the posts and discussion on MemeStreams referencing the following web page: S. 1945 A bill to permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings. You can find discussions on MemeStreams as you surf the web, even if you aren't a MemeStreams member, using the Threads Bookmarklet.

S. 1945 A bill to permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings by w1ld at 12:10 am EST, Feb 27, 2012
S. 1945 would require the U.S. Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open sessions, unless a majority of justices vote to bar such recordings. The Supreme Court currently prohibits recording devices in the courtroom. -- That would be great.
Link - Reply

RE: S. 1945 A bill to permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings
by Rattle at 10:55 am EST, Mar 1, 2012

w1ld wrote:
S. 1945 would require the U.S. Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open
sessions, unless a majority of justices vote to bar such recordings. The Supreme Court
currently prohibits recording devices in the courtroom.
--
That would be great.

I go back and forth on if televising the SCOTUS sessions is a good idea... Allowing it sounds like a no brainer, but there is another side to it.

TV coverage of SCOTUS hearings will invariably result in 10 second video bites being used by pundits out of context to politicize the complex issues before the court. The justices themselves often rely on transcripts of arguments, and during hearings focus on developing questions. This could come off as the justices looking aloof on camera.

I'm not entirely convinced that transcripts/audio recordings aren't the best way to digest SCOTUS in the big scheme of things.

Televised hearings are unlikely to result in better coverage of issues, has many potential downsides, and few upsides associated with being able to "see" what's happening. I certainly don't see an upside to looking good on TV being a quality sought in future justices... It will change the way the court works, and I'm not convinced it would be a change for the better.