The Best Case For Televised Hearings

Were yesterday’s oral arguments. When people say that having cameras in the courtroom would undermine the solemn seriousity of Supreme Court oral arguments I never have any idea what the hell they’re talking about. Oh noes, if we have cameras in the Supreme Court Antonin Scalia might start ranting like a third-tier winger talk radio host! Stephen Breyer might start asking lengthy law school hypotheticals that sometimes don’t really go much of anyplace! Michael Carvin might come off like a sexist bully!

I don’t actually think that cameras in the Supreme Court would change much of anything. But even if they did, so what? The justices already play to an audience; there’s no neutral form of oral argument that televised proceedings would undermine.