Hawaii Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono and Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz sent a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts Friday, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to make the audio recording of the upcoming travel ban arguments available immediately after the proceedings conclude.
Though the high court records all oral arguments, tapes are rarely released on the same day a case is heard. An exception is warranted here, given the attention the travel ban litigation commands, Hirono and Cruz said.
“Giving the public access to a primary source of information as soon as possible allows more citizens to participate in our democratic system and illustrates the care with which the Court considers the issues that matter to the people of the United States,” the letter reads.
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Transcripts of an oral argument are generally posted on the Court’s website several hours after it concludes. Audio recordings of a given week’s arguments are made available on Fridays. Video broadcasts from the courtroom are not permitted under any circumstances.
Chief Justice John Roberts on occasion has allowed same-day release of audio in cases attracting significant public interest. Recordings were released of the 2008 D.C. v. Heller argument and the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges argument immediately after they ended. Heller was a landmark Second Amendment case and Obergefell concerned same-sex marriage.
Every federal appellate court releases audio of all oral arguments within several hours. Some even allow video recordings of their proceedings.
The 4th and 9th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal allowed live audio broadcasts from their facilities when they heard arguments at an earlier stage of these cases.
Faster audio access would correspond to the meaningful reforms the Court has made in recent months to increase access and accountability for the general public, Fix the Court, a nonpartisan judicial transparency group, noted.
“Granting same-day audio access, as the justices have done 26 times prior, would be an act consistent with other modernization steps Chief Justice Roberts has implemented in recent years that increase openness, from permitting e-filing to releasing financial disclosures digitally,” Fix the Court Executive Director Gabe Roth said in a statement.
The case, Trump v. Hawaii, will be heard on April 25, 2018.
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