In response to Chief Justice John Roberts’ year-end report on the federal judiciary, which describes the future adoption of an online filing system but mentions little else about Supreme Court transparency, Fix the Court executive director Gabe Roth said the following:

Dozens of government institutions – the White House, Congress and other federal courts on down – have adopted a more favorable attitude toward modern technology, realizing (albeit reluctantly) that openness outweighs secrecy. But not the Supreme Court. In his year-end report Chief Justice Roberts pays lip service to the idea that transparency is critical but does not signal a willingness to make the court truly transparent.

At a time when faith in the court is at an all-time low, opening up the institution would restore some lost prestige and should be a top priority for Roberts in 2015.