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NEWS JUNE 28, 2021 ■ 11

Senate Judiciary Advances Bills

To Let Cameras in Courtrooms

By Jacqueline Thomsen

he Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday
advanced a pair of bills on broadcasting federal
Tcourt proceedings, over the objections of the
federal judiciary’s administrative arm.
The two bills, which would require the U.S. Su-
preme Court to allow television coverage of its
arguments and to let federal judges authorize the
broadcasting of proceedings in their courts, were
introduced on a bipartisan basis. If signed into law,
the measures would bring transparency to a branch
of the federal government that has long been inac-
cessible to much of the public.
The legislation was taken up as federal court-
houses begin to reopen their doors after turning
to remote proceedings due to the pandemic. The
Supreme Court has held remote arguments and al- Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, (left) and Richard
lowed them to be livestreamed during the past term. Durbin, D-Illinois. (Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM)
It’s unclear whether the court will continue to do so The second piece of legislation, called the “Sun-
once the public is allowed back in the court. shine in the Courtroom Act,” would allow federal
One of the bills advanced Thursday would allow judges at any level of the judiciary—including the
cameras to cover the Supreme Court’s oral argu- Supreme Court—to let cameras in their courtrooms.
ments, unless a majority of the justices found the That bill passed out of the committee on a 15-7 vote.
broadcast would violate the due process rights of The legislation would block coverage of private
any of the parties in a case. That bill, introduced sidebars, like conversations between attorneys and
by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick their clients. The authorities for district courts
Durbin, R-Illinois, and ranking member Sen. would expire after three years, at which point law-
Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, was advanced on a 14-9 makers could decide whether to renew the measure.
vote. The Judicial Conference has historically been
Durbin said at the start of the hearing that, while against the Sunshine in the Courtroom Act, and the
members of the different parties “may disagree on administrative body’s director on Wednesday reiter-
how the justices decide cases, I hope we can agree it’s ated that opposition. The organization did not take
healthy for our democracy for the American people a position on the standalone Supreme Court legisla-
to see the Supreme Court in action,” a point Grassley tion.
agreed with. “The Judicial Conference has consistently expressed
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, offered two amendments the view that camera coverage can do irreparable
to the bill. One would require the court to post au- harm to a citizen’s right to a fair and impartial trial,”
dio of arguments the same day they were heard, and Roslynn Mauskopf, the secretary of the conference,
the other would have set the number of justices on wrote in a letter to senators. She cited concerns about
the court at nine. Both measures failed. ■ Continued on PAGE 12

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