LIVE… from Washington, DC… it’s the SUPREME COURT!

Today marks an amazing milestone in our nation’s history. For the first time ever the oral proceedings of the US Supreme Court will be streamed LIVE. This will be an unprecedented opportunity for a majority of the populace to hear how the Highest Court in the Land reviews the merits of arguments that can have a major impact on our society’s laws and culture.

The only live court case/trial I’ve ever witnessed was a SCOTUS case. It was one of my first assignments as a reporter more than 30 years ago, and it was an unbelievable experience. The night before I sat at the crowded hotel bar talking politics with Washington lobbyists; the next day I entered the hallowed halls and simply listened.

In a time before metal detectors and pat-downs I went through two sets of screenings. I couldn’t have any recording devices other than a pencil and notebook. Once cleared, a uniformed Captial Police officer directed me to a balcony overlooking the courtroom where I sat silently with other members of the “press corps.” We could not speak to one another; we could only listen and scribble notes.

The pomp and circumstance began with “Oyez, oyez, oyez,” the introduction which has signaled the opening of every Supreme Court session. The justices than came in and took their seats, and, when requested, the first attorney stepped to the podium. They had a certain amount of time (I think it was 30 minutes, but I can’t really remember) to present their argument, and their time could be interrupted by questions from the bench. The attorneys had to answer directly before continuing their scripted argument. There were two lights on the podium (again, I can’t remember their colors); when the first went off the attorney had 30 seconds to finish their thoughts. When the second went off the chief justice could stop the attorney immediately or allow them to finish that last sentence. One thing I do remember vividly is thinking how much time and money was spent by the litigants navigating the lower courts ultimately to spend such a minimal amount of time in front of the Supreme Court.

Despite the poor attempt at humor in my title — mimicking the intro to Saturday Night Live — there is nothing comical about today’s events. I don’t even pretend to think it will be entertaining television when video feeds from the chambers eventually happen. The courtroom will look nothing like a scripted television drama. There will be no “ah-HA!” moments; there will be no twist-and-turns. Let’s face it… it will be visually boring.

But it is important. According to CBS News, the justices will hear arguments “telephonically for 10 cases over the first two weeks of May. Among the legal battles set to be heard remotely are closely watched cases over subpoenas for President Trump’s financial records, faithless electors and the Electoral College, and Obamacare’s contraception mandate.”

To fully appreciate what is said in the Court it might be helpful to do a little pre-game study of the scheduled. Wait! What?! Yes, I’m suggesting a little research to be able to better comprehend why each case is important to our nation. I’ve known people who’ve spent days “studying” for their Fantasy Football draft. Maybe 15 minutes of online reading wouldn’t be so bad here.

I think listening is important, even if it’s just one day to say you’ve done it (think of it as a tourist stop, like seeing the Liberty Bell). Then, you can pick and choose cases that interest and/or affect you. At the very least I would hope teachers of online Social Studies and Government classes (high school and college) require this as an assignment.

In an era where “transparency” is demanded of our leaders in all areas (politics, finance, etc.) and every media outlet has it’s own spin, listening to a live court case allows us to form our own opinions. Being well-informed and thinking for ourselves is critical to fulfilling our roles as productive members of our society.