By Manny Marotta, FTC law clerk

Fix the Court has identified 85 Supreme Court justice events from Jan. 2024 to Aug. 2025 (listed at the end) that we believe should’ve been video- or audio-recorded but were not.

It’s our view that any time a justice appears before a public audience — whether in a law school auditorium, a U.S. embassy abroad or a circuit-wide judicial conference — the event should be captured on tape.

Why weren’t these events recorded?

FTC maintains a comprehensive, continuously updated list of SCOTUS justice events. (Here are the 2024 and 2025 events.) In doing so, we’ve found a surprisingly high number of them had no easily findable video or audio component that was posted online. Over the summer, we launched an investigation into exactly how many public-facing events went unrecorded.

Again, we don’t expect every event to be recorded. If a justice is holding an in-chambers meeting, attending a photo shoot or meeting with schoolchildren at the Supreme Court, we would not expect recordings.

After a comprehensive review, we determined that of the 222 justice events in 2024 and the 140 events in 2025 (as of our check on Aug. 30), 85 events — about a quarter — were before public audiences and, in our view, should have been recorded but either weren’t or the recordings have yet to be posted online. That’s a lot of missing material.

We reached out to the venues for these events with missing recordings to see if we were mistaken — i.e., that the events were recorded but that not audio or video file had been posted online yet. But almost none of the venues responded with a file.

Below is our list of 2024 and 2025 SCOTUS justice events that should have been recorded but were not, along with the results of our follow-up inquiries. For about half of all inquiries, we have not yet received a response. If no response has been received, we do not include a note by the event. If we did receive a response, we include a note in bold italics.

Of the responses we received, only one provided video. The most common replies were “we do not have a recording” or “we were not allowed to record.”

The list

1. Justice Sotomayor and U.S. Ambassador to Panama Mari Carmen Aponte speak with law students at the Instituto Técnico Superior Especializado (ITSE) in Panama City (1/25/24): Press release

2. Justice Sotomayor speaks at the ITSE training center before 600 public school students and participants in U.S. embassy youth programs (1/25/24): Press release

3. Justice Sotomayor gives a talk at St. Mary’s University’s School of Law in San Antonio (1/30/24): Photos 

4. Justice Jackson is presented with the American Voice Award by Arena Stage as part of the Opening Night celebration for the world premiere of Kia Corthron’s play “Tempestuous Elements” (2/24/24): Press release “We do not have a recording of the award presentation,” said a public relations specialist at Arena Stage.

5. Justice Sotomayor is in conversation with President of the Constitutional Court of Spain, Candido Conde-Pumpido Touron, during the celebration of International Women’s Day at the Court in Madrid (3/4/24): Picture

6. Justice Jackson is inducted as an Honorary Life Fellow of the Foundation of the Federal Bar Association in a ceremony at the Supreme Court (3/22/24): LinkedIn post

7. Justice Kavanaugh speaks at the Fifth Circuit Judicial Conference in Austin, Tex. (5/10/24): Article Neither audio nor video was recorded, per a source in the Fifth Circuit.

8. Justice Thomas speaks at the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference in Point Clear, Ala. (5/10/24): Article “Justice Thomas[‘s]…remarks will not be live-streamed or recorded,” according to an attorney in the Eleventh Circuit’s Circuit Executive’s Office.

9. Chief Justice Roberts speaks at the Federal Circuit Judicial Conference in Washington (5/14/24): Article 

10. Justice Gorsuch speaks at the 25th annual Burton Awards honoring legal writing in Washington (5/20/24): Article 

11. Justice Sotomayor attends the Second Circuit’s annual conference in Albany, N.Y. (6/4-5/24)

12. Justice Gorsuch attends educational forum at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg, Germany (7/10-7/12/24): Disclosure After some back-and-forth, we were not able to obtain video or audio from the Max Planck Institute.

13. Justice Sotomayor speaks with Prof. Dr. Andreas Kellerhals, Director of the Europa Institut at the University of Zurich, and journalist Isabelle Jacobi in Zurich, Switzerland (7/11/24): Article

14. Justice Sotomayor speaks with Austrian law and human rights professionals and students in Vienna (on or around 7/18/24): Instagram post

15. Justice Sotomayor reads to children at the Bronx Children’s Museum (8/7/24): Article  “Unfortunately, there is no footage or audio available,” said a museum representative.

16. Justice Jackson is interviewed by CBS News’ Gayle King at the Apollo Theater in New York (9/3/24): Article 

17. Justice Gorsuch gives remarks at the Tenth Circuit Bench & Bar Conference in Colorado Springs (9/5/24): Article Neither audio nor video was recorded, per a source in the Fifth Circuit.

18. Justice Jackson speaks with WABE’s Rose Scott at Atlanta Symphony Hall (9/5/24): Audio 

19. Justice Jackson speaks with Rev. Natosha Reid Rice at an invitation-only lunch event the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta (9/6/24).

20. Justice Jackson speaks with Miami law partner Stephen Rosenthal at the University of Miami Law School (9/7/24): Article “We were sadly not able to record per agreement with Jackson,” according to the director of media relations at Miami Law.

21. Justice Jackson speaks with S.D. Fla. Judge Darrin Gayles at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami (9/7/24): Instagram post

22. Justice Jackson speaks with Melinda Gates at Benaroya Hall in Seattle (9/9/24): Facebook post

23. Justice Jackson speaks with Berkeley Law’s John A. Powell at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco (9/10/24): Audio

24. Justice Jackson speaks with Radcliffe Institute Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre (9/12/24): Tweet 

25. Justice Jackson speaks with Valerie Jarrett at the Chicago Humanities Festival (9/15/24): Article, audio, and tweet 

26. Justice Jackson is interviewed by NPR’s Michel Martin at the City Club of Cleveland (9/16/24): Article and Instagram post “We are unable to provide video of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s appearance here,” confirmed a digital content manager at the City Club.

27. Justice Jackson is interviewed by Jenny Hamel, host of  “Sound of Ideas” on Ideastream Public Media/WKSU (NPR for Cleveland and Northeast Ohio) (9/16/24): Audio 

28. Justice Sotomayor speaks at Georgetown Law as part of a symposium honoring Second Circuit Judge Robert Katzmann’s legacy (9/19/24): Article

29. Justice Barrett presides over the Armand Arabian Advocacy Tournament at Pepperdine University’s Caruso School of Law (9/20/24): Press release 

30. Justice Barrett speaks with Pepperdine Law Dean Paul Caron and Profs. Babette Boliek and Trey Childress at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles (9/21/24): Announcement

31. Justice Jackson speaks with attorney and author Brad Meltzer at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore (9/21/24): Article and tweet 

32. Justice Jackson gives a book talk at the African American History and Culture Museum in D.C. with Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. (9/24/24) Instagram post

33. Justice Jackson is interviewed by 6abc news anchor Tamala Edwards at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia (9/28/24): Instagram post

34. Justice Jackson is interviewed by venture capitalist Mallun Yen at the ChIPs (“Chiefs in Intellectual Property”) 2024 Global Summit in D.C. (10/17/24) “We do not share recordings of our ChIPs Global Summit Events,” said a business director at ChIPs.

35. Justice Sotomayor participated in a panel discussion as part of Yale Law School’s 200th anniversary (10/19/24): Announcement “Unfortunately, that event was not recorded,” said a director of public affairs at Yale Law.

36. Justice Sotomayor speaks at the opening of a new exhibit at the Burger Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in St. Paul, Minn. (10/21/24): Article The District of Minnesota provided one photo, but the court’s Public Information Officer said that they did not have approval to share any more.

37. Justice Jackson gives a remote talk to the National Society of Leadership and Success (10/22/24): Instagram post “This full event is only available to members of the NSLS,” according to a member experience specialist at the NSLS.

38. Justice Jackson visits Howard Law School in D.C. for a conversation with Dean Roger Fairfax and stops by each of the 1L sections (10/23/24): Instagram post

39. Chief Justice Roberts speaks with U.S. Military Academy Dean Shane Reeves in West Point, N.Y. (on or around 11/4/24): Facebook post

40. Justice Kavanaugh judges the final round of the inaugural Justice Barrett Moot Court Tournament at Notre Dame Law School in South Bend (11/8/24): Instagram post

41. Justices Gorsuch and Breyer (ret.) sit in conversation during the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention in D.C., with Justices Kavanaugh and Barrett in attendance (11/15/24): Tweet 

42. Justice Sotomayor attends the unveiling of her official portrait in the Supreme Court building (11/15/24): Instagram post

43. Justice Jackson gives remarks during the National Council of Teachers of English convention in Boston (11/21/24): Tweet 

44. Justice Gorsuch attends a board  meeting for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Virginia (11/22-11/24/24) Disclosure 

45. Justice Jackson gives a talk at the YWCA of White Plains and Central Westchester, co-hosted by Mercy University (12/15/24): Instagram post

46. Justice Sotomayor is interviewed by Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, chief executive officer of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, at Texas A&M University-San Antonio’s Cisneros Institute for Emerging Leaders (1/29/25): Article 

47. Justice Sotomayor gives a talk at St. Mary’s University’s School of Law in San Antonio (1/30/25): Photos 

48. Justice Jackson judges a moot court competition at GW Law School in D.C. (1/30/25): Video highlights; article 

49. Justice Sotomayor reads her book Just Ask! to children at the Kansas City Ballet (2/1/25): Photo 

50. Justice Sotomayor receives the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law’s Brandeis Medal in a ceremony at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Louisville, with remarks from Ky. Gov. Andy Beshear (2/5/25): Article 

51. Justice Jackson speaks with students at the St. Croix Career & Technical Education Center on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (2/6/25): Photos 

52. Justice Jackson is interviewed by D. V.I. Judge Wilma Lewis at the Sidney Lee Event Center in Christiansted (island of St. Croix), U.S. Virgin Islands, in an event hosted by the U.S. District Court of the Virgin Islands (2/6/25): Article 

53. Justice Jackson speaks at a Virgin Islands Department of Education event in St. Thomas (2/7/25): Announcement 

54. Justice Jackson speaks at a University of the Virgin Islands student convocation on the school’s campus in St. Thomas, where she received an honorary degree (2/7/25): Article 

55. Justice Jackson is interviewed by D. V.I. Judge Wilma Lewis at the Westin Resort & Spa at Frenchman’s Reefs in St. Thomas, in an event hosted by the U.S. District Court of the Virgin Islands (2/7/25): Article and photo 

56. Justice Barrett was scheduled to speak at George Mason University Law & Economics Center’s Scalia Forum (2/13/25): Announcement “The event you reference was not recorded in any format,” a Law and Justice Center official wrote back when we requested a recording.

57. Justice Jackson speaks with former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun at the University Club of Chicago (2/19/25): Photos

58. Justice Jackson speaks with author Isabel Wilkerson at the House of Hope in Chicago (2/19/25): Article We received a cryptic email back from House of Hope, but the gist is that the event was likely not recorded.

59. Justice Jackson speaks with N.D. Calif. USA Ismail Ramsey at the American Bar Association’s White Collar Crime Institute in Miami (3/6/25): Article The White Collar Crime Institute provided video of Justice Jackson’s appearance. They were the only organization to do so.

60. Justice Thomas speaks at the dedication of a conference room in the Missouri AG’s office in memory of Dick Wieler, who was an attorney there, in Jefferson City, Mo. (3/10/25): Photos “The Missouri Attorney General’s Office has no audio or video recording of that event,” a press aide emailed back.

61. Justice Jackson speaks with MSNBC legal correspondent Katie Phang at the Miami Book Fair at Miami-Dade College (3/10/25): Photos

62. Justice Sotomayor gives a remote talk during iCivics’ Civics Learning Week (3/14/25): Announcement

63. Justice Jackson speaks with former White House counsel Dana Remus and receives an award at the Women’s General Counsel Network conference in D.C. (3/20 or 3/21/25): Photos 

64. Justice Jackson speaks and receives an award at the Leading Women Defined summit in Dana Point, Calif. (4/5/25): Photo “As a matter of policy, we do not provide audio or video recordings of our events,” a LWD official told us when we submitted our request.

65. Justice Sotomayor speaks with journalist Maria Hinojosa and receives the Colin L. Powell Distinguished Leadership Award at CUNY (4/7/25): Post “That event was closed so we will not be releasing recordings,” emailed an Associate Dean of the Powell School.

66. Justice Sotomayor speaks with NYU President Linda Mills at NYU’s Washington Square campus (4/8/25): Announcement 

67. Justice Jackson speaks with Space Force Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer Chandra Donelson at the IGNITE Summit at the National Press Club in D.C. (4/8/25): Photos 

68. Justices Sotomayor, Barrett, Jackson and Kennedy (ret.) attend an Academy of Achievement dinner at the Supreme Court honoring M.D. Ala. Judge Myron Thompson (4/25/25): Article 

69. Justice Jackson speaks to the First Circuit Judicial Conference in Río Grande, Puerto Rico (5/1/25): Article 

70. Justice Jackson speaks with Dean Julio Fontanet Maldonado of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law at the Bar Association of Puerto Rico in San Juan (5/2/25): Announcement

71. Justice Sotomayor attends the dedication of a monument with Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader and King of Spain Felipe VI in Santo Domingo, D.R. (5/6/25): Photo 

72. Justice Sotomayor speaks with writer and director Fran Sillau about the stage adaptation of Just Ask during a Theatre for Young Audiences’ conference at Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Md. (moved from the Kennedy Center) (5/8/25): Announcement 

73. Justice Sotomayor speaks at an ABA event at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in D.C. where she received the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section’s Lifetime Liberty Achievement Award (5/8/25): Article 

74. Justice Jackson participates in a Q&A with W.D. Mo. Judge Willie Epps at the Whittaker Courthouse in Kansas City, Mo. (5/8/25): Article “We did not record the event, so there is no video or audio,” according to a source in W.D. Missouri.

75. Justice Kavanaugh addresses members of the Notre Dame lacrosse team while they were in Annapolis for the NCAA tournament (around 5/18/25): Post

76. Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Sotomayor attend the Burton Awards at the Library of Congress (5/19/25): Post “There is no video or audio recording to share,” emailed Burton Awards Executive Director Jaclyn Hashim.

77. Justice Sotomayor speaks at the Second Circuit Judicial Conference in Albany, N.Y. (likely 6/4/25): Post

78. Justice Gorsuch was expected to teach at Scalia Law’s National Security Institute in Prague (7/6-18/25): Announcement 

79. Justice Jackson delivers a pre-recorded message from the Supreme Court building to the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority national convention in D.C. (on or around 7/10/25): Post 

80. Justice Kagan speaks with students in the St. Albans School of Public Service summer program (late June or early to mid-July 2025): Post

81. Justice Jackson speaks with D.C. Circuit Judge Michelle Childs at the National Bar Association convention in Chicago (7/28/25): Article 

82. Justice Kavanaugh speaks with E.D. Mo. Judge Sarah Pitlyk at the Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference in Kansas City, Mo. (7/31/25): Article 

83. Justice Jackson attends the Harvard Law School Black Alumni reception during the Martha’s Vineyard Black Book Festival in Oak Bluffs, Mass. (8/8/25): Post 

84. Justice Jackson speaks at the Martha’s Vineyard Black Book Festival with the Festival’s founder, Traci Wilkes Smith, in Oak Bluffs, Mass. (8/9/25): Article 

85. Justice Barrett speaks at the Seventh Circuit Judicial Conference in Chicago (8/18/25): Article 

Some concluding notes

This investigation is ongoing, and the list will change and grow over time. We are continuing to follow up with venues in hopes of obtaining these recordings in the interest of judicial transparency.

Ultimately, there should be far more audio and video recordings of public events. Justices’ remarks are valuable and clearly in the public interest — as demonstrated by Fix the Court’s recent unearthing of a Justice Sotomayor recording from summer 2024 in which she expressed a unique perspective on the Court’s operations and future.

These types of remarks deserve to be accessible, and we are working to make that happen.