By Manny Marotta, FTC law clerk

Sens. Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Cameras in the Courtroom Act today to require television coverage Supreme Court oral arguments and opinion announcements.

This is the 11th time the bill has been introduced in the Senate in last 20 years, with the most recent Judiciary Committee passage occurring in 2021. The bill has never been voted on by the full Senate.

The Supreme Court currently only provides limited in-person access, with only about 50 members of the public let in for arguments.

Per the bill’s text, the Court would only be able to opt out of video coverage if a majority of justices determined that broadcasting would violate due process rights of a party (highly unlikely).

Rep. Connolly introduced a companion bill today in the House, the text of which can be found here.

This is the 10th time the bill has been introduced in the House in last 20 years, with the most recent Judiciary Committee passage occurring in 2018, albeit with slightly different language. This bill has never been voted on by the full House, but prior to 2005, bills that permitted (not required) video at SCOTUS were appended to larger bills, two of which passed the House in 1998 and 2000 but went no further.

Fix the Court continues to support televising proceedings to enhance public understanding and trust in the Supreme Court. We expect a bill permitting video coverage in the lower courts to be introduced soon.