Pat Leahy (D-VT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have fired off a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts asking for television coverage when the Supreme Court announces its ruling on the big case concerning the Affordable Care Act.
Leahy is Chairman and Grassley Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Broadcasting the Court’s ruling would permit millions of citizens the opportunity to view what so few can from the court’s small and limited public gallery. Modern technology makes televising the proceedings simple and unobtrusive. A minimal number of cameras in the courtroom, which could be placed to be barely noticeable to all participants, would provide live coverage of what may be one of the most historic rulings of our time. We believe permitting the nation to watch the proceedings would bolster public confidence in our judicial system and in the decisions of the Court.”
RBR-TVBR observation: It should not take a major issue to enable broadcasters to cover SCOTUS proceedings. This is the 21st Century, and the citizens of the United States should be able to benefit from modern technology to see what their employees – the justices – are up to – whether they are reviewing the constitutionality of ACA or the constitutionality of a jay-walking ticket.
And while we’re on the topic, Mr. Roberts, I’d like to have a word about a $15 jay-walking ticket issued to me by the District of Columbia during the spring of 1987, give or take a year. There was barely a pedestrian alive who waited for the light to change at that light on 17th and L NW – even somnambulists crossed on red there when it was clear of traffic. My attorneys and I say it was selective enforcement. And when you take up this case, we’d like the proceedings to be televised.
