Justice Scalia on Cameras in the Supreme Court (C-SPAN)

During a C-SPAN Q&A interview, Justice Antonin Scalia discusses Cameras in the Supreme Court. Watch the complete interview on Sunday, July 29 at 8:00 p.m. ET on C-SPAN.

Excerpts include:

SCALIA: I was for it when I first joined the Court and switched and remain on that side of it. I am against it because I do not believe, as the proponents of television in the Court assert, that the purpose of televising our hearings would be educate the American people. That's not what it would end up doing. If I really thought it would educate the American people I would be all for it. If the American people sat down and watched our proceedings gavel-to-gavel they would never again ask, as I'm sometimes asked, "Justice Scalia, why do you have to be a lawyer to be on the Supreme Court? The constitution doesn't say-- " no the constitution doesn't say so. But, if you know what our real business is, if you know that we're not usually contemplating our naval "should there be a right to this or that, should there be a right to abortion, should there be a right to homose-- " that's not usually what we're doing. We're usually dealing with the Internal Revenue Code. With ERISA. With Patent Law. With all sorts of dull stuff that only a lawyer could understand and perhaps get interested. If the American people saw all of that they would be educated. But they wouldn't see all of that. You're outfit would carry it all, to be sure, but what most of the American people would see would be 30 second, 15 second takeouts from our argument and those takeouts would not be characteristic of what we do. They would be uncharacteristic.

C-SPAN: Yeah, now, but what we see is an article in a newspaper that's out of context with what you say is --

SCALIA: That's fine. But it's...people read that and say "well it's an article in a newspaper and the guy may be lying or he may be misinformed." But somehow when you see it live, an excerpt pulled out of an entire, when you see it live, it has a much greater impact. No, I am sure it will mis-educate the American people, not educate.




C-SPAN: Well, we get the audio. We get the audio at the end of the week.

SCALIA: Yeah, but the audio is not of interest to the 15 second take out people and the 30 second take out people. The audio isn't of interest precisely because it doesn't have that kind of impact.

C-SPAN: But the first amendment doesn't go, "takeouts are not good. We can't have those 15 second sound bites."

SCALIA: The First Amendment has nothing to do with whether we have to televise our proceedings.

C-SPAN: But aren't you an advocate -- ?

SCALIA: You're saying the First Amendment requires us to televise our proceedings?

C-SPAN: No, I didn't say that. I just said that you're a big advocate of the first amendment.

SCALIA: I am indeed and it doesn't require us to televise our proceedings.

• Category

  News & Politics

[dragknuckle]

Television adds emotion, not content.

[sklanger]

How many ERISA cases have you listened to? What would televised proceedings add to the substance of the case that is not already contained in the transcripts or audio recordings of oral argument, beyond drama? If you weren't interested before, why would added visuals interest you now? You dumb Americans want to dramatize everything, sensationalize the courts, turn it into a circus, like you did the OJ Simpson trial. How did that work out for you?

[luchpockets]

Cameras can help in error and abuse discovery so, why are they frightened about a camera recording them at work, many people and professions have been doing that for years now. Time for the courts to stand up and prove they deserve the respect and trust they demand.

[Cristyn Newhall]

this guy should have never been confirmed

. this guy dont have to vote everyone knows witch way he is going to side. always always on the right side not right or wrong like it should be but on the republican side i wonder if he believes the bullshit he spews of just wants to have history remember him as a wicked man.

[GodfatherXXI]

He really is an asshole.

[imaginativelads]

I wish Gore Vidal would have snuffed this guy out before leaving us at such a young age.

[SteamerElgin]

Scalia it too fat to be on television

Thomas is very fat too..they donnot want to be humilated on television

[LiveFreeorDieGuy]

I actually don't want the courts to allow video for similar reasons. The oral proceedings are about the argument not about how Justice Ginsberg looked disenchanted or how Justice Scalia looked befuddled which is what the tv media reports. The public has open access to the proceedings audio which forces you to listen and focus on the argument which is the whole point of the Supreme Court judicial process. These Judges know this which is why they're judges but the media doesn't.

[jepkratz]

Justice Scalia: Your argument is spurious. Many, probably by far most Americans would not watch SCOTUS proceedings gavel to gavel, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't have the ability to watch should they want to. Were the media to fulfill its roll to bring information, not propaganda, to the electorate there is nothing wrong with an edited summary report as no working person has the time to follow all the government's long-winded proceedings in entirety.

[smujismuj]

A Fascist Speaks