An open court coalition requested that U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts allow live video broadcast of Court hearings. The Coalition for Court Transparency argued that greater transparency would increase public confidence in the court and spur interest in the issues raised by the cases under consideration. (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, March 10, 2014)
Marking the 50th anniversary of the Times v. Sullivan press freedom ruling, the Coalition for Court Transparency, March 10, 2014, sent the letter to Chief Justice Roberts to urge him to televise proceedings so more than those allowed in the gallery could witness history as it was being made. Justice Antonin Scalia is staunchly opposed to tweets and 15 second bites that could distort the content of the proceedings but may support gavel-to-gavel transmission on C-Span.
The Coalition’s Gabe Roth said the letter was the first step in a campaign to gain greater openness not only with live broadcasts but in postings on SCOTUS. He said the Supreme Court of Canada posted much more educational information about their activities online than our Supreme Court. Roth also thought the justices should put financial disclosure statements online. Public trust in the Court dropped between 2000, 62% job approval, and 20011 with a 44% approval rate. (First Amendment Coalition, March 10, 2014, by Donal Brown)
Roy Gutterman of the Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University wrote that Times v. Sullivan was vital in preserving free press and speech and promoting openness. “The case has been integral to forging rules for access to public meetings, public places and commercial speech as well as the free speech rights of just about anyone you care to list – journalists, confidential sources, lawyers, campaign donors, pornographers, comedians, religious zealots and hate-monger,” he wrote. (The Huffington Post, March 5, 2014, by Roy S. Gutterman)