videotaping the supreme court

[Thai, Joseph T.]

Samuel surely gave one non-legal (and in my view unjustifiable) reason
why some justices do not want cameras in the courtroom.  A legal reason
often advanced is that the lack of cameras keeps arguments substantive
and focused on the Court's concerns rather than on sound bites for the
evening news.

Joe

Joseph T. Thai
Associate Professor
University of Oklahoma College of Law
thai at ou.edu

> -----Original Message-----
> From: conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu [mailto:conlawprof-
> bounces at lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Jessica Silbey
> Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2005 10:13 AM
> To: 'Samuel Bagenstos'; conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu
> Subject: RE: videotaping the supreme court
> 
> This is interesting -- why is this not a concern for other public
> officials
> whether appointed or elected (I'm thinking of the attorney general,
white
> house counsel, or congress people) who are also in the spotlight and
> frequently on camera discussing or commenting on controversial topics?
> Does
> the lack of the camera in the supreme courtroom further the illusion
of
> the
> justices' independence from party politics and mainstream media? Or
does
> the
> lack of a camera in their courtroom in fact insulate the justices'
from
> what
> they consider to be irrelevant distractions?
> 
> ________________________________
> Jessica Silbey
> Assistant Professor of Law
> Suffolk University Law School
> 120 Tremont Street
> Boston, MA 02108
> 617-305-6270 (office)
> 617-305-3079 (fax)
> jsilbey at suffolk.edu
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Samuel Bagenstos [mailto:srbagenstos at wulaw.wustl.edu]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2005 10:29 AM
> To: conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu; jsilbey at suffolk.edu
> Subject: Re: videotaping the supreme court
> 
> Because the Justices don't want to be recognized on the street.
> 
> ====================================
> Samuel R. Bagenstos
> Professor of Law
> Washington University School of Law
> One Brookings Drive
> St. Louis, MO  63130
> 314-935-9097
> Personal Web Page:
> http://law.wustl.edu/Academics/Faculty/Bagenstos/index.html
> Disability Law Blog:  http://disabilitylaw.blogspot.com/
> 
> >>> "Jessica Silbey" <jsilbey at suffolk.edu> 3/1/2005 9:22:27 AM >>>
> I have been unable to find the answer to a student question:  Why does
> the
> Supreme Court not allow its arguments to be videotaped, only audio
> recorded?
> I'd appreciate any educated guesses (or answers) from members of the
> list-serve.  Many thanks.
> 
> 
> 
> -Jessica
> 
> ________________________________
> 
> Jessica Silbey
> 
> Assistant Professor of Law
> 
> Suffolk University Law School
> 
> 120 Tremont Street
> 
> Boston, MA 02108
> 
> 617-305-6270 (office)
> 
> 617-305-3079 (fax)
> 
> jsilbey at suffolk.edu
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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