The New York Times didn’t put it precisely that way, but in an editorial, the newspaper said that it is high time for television cameras to be a part of the proceedings of the Supreme Court.
“Cameras in the court would allow Americans to see for themselves how an extremely powerful part of their government works,” wrote NYT. “They would also allow voters to hold presidents accountable for the quality of justices they nominate. Right now, we see the justices during their confirmation hearings and rarely after that.”
Instead of opening up their proceedings, NYT noticed how the Court instead seems inclined to further isolate itself, referring specifically to Chief Justice John Roberts’ pondering his future absence from the State of the Union address.
NYT noted that the common observation that cameras might intimidate witnesses and therefore deny due process was meaningless at the Supreme Court level, which does not handle those types of cases.
C-SPAN has been trying to get its cameras into the Court since 1988. Arlen Specter (D-PA) has a sense of the Senate resolution pending urging the introduction of cameras. Polls indicate a solid majority in favor. NYT says it’s time for the Court to join the rest of us in the modern electrified world.
RBR-TVBR observation: It’s refreshing to see the New York Times join in with RBR-TVBR in the call to open up court proceedings. As we wrote earlier this month, “Really – either at the very least we keep SCOTUS on a par with 50-year-old technology or they have to go back to wearing wigs. And using outdoor restroom facilities.” That’s what we said, and we’re sticking to it.
