Connolly leads drive to televise Supreme Court proceedings

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) has introduced bipartisan legislation to allow television coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court. The bill aims to give the public more access to the high court’s deliberations.  Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX) is the original cosponsor.

Connolly’s Cameras in the Courtroom Act – H.R. 96— would permit television coverage of all open sessions of the U.S. Supreme Court unless a majority of justices decided that allowing coverage of a particular case would violate the due process rights of a party appearing before the court, a news release said.

“Currently, cameras are barred from the Supreme Court, and the court allocates only 50 seats to view open proceedings,” Connolly was quoted as saying. “This limited seating suggests an elitism and propensity of secrecy unworthy of the third branch of our government.  Cameras in the courtroom would bring a higher degree of transparency and accountability to the high court, and would give the public better access to deliberations on the important issues that come before the cour,” he added.

When information transfer from across the globe is near instantaneous and a hand-held cell phone can provide world-wide video conferencing, limiting access to momentous deliberations in the Supreme Court to a few dozen citizens in cases like Bush v. Gore, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, Kelo v. City of New London, and the debate on provisions of the Affordable Care Act seems out of step.

“This is not a Democratic or Republican bill,” Connolly said.  “It is a bill to bring sunshine into the high court’s deliberations and give the public direct access to the arguments pro and con that come before the Supreme Court on important constitutional issues that affect every American.  It would provide our citizens with a clear view of the court’s proceedings, unfettered by the filter of the media and other observers,” he said in a press release.