C-SPAN: C-SPAN CAMERAS IN THE COURTS TIMELINE

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C-SPAN has sought to provide its audience with coverage of the Judiciary, just as it has covered the Legislative and Executive branches of government. The prohibition of televised coverage of the Supreme Court's oral arguments has been an obstacle to fulfilling that goal. Below is a record of C-SPAN's efforts to make the Court more accessible to the public.

C-SPAN Timeline:
Cameras in the Court

1981	C-SPAN televises its first Supreme Court Senate confirmation hearing with gavel-to-gavel coverage, with the nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor.
1985	C-SPAN launches "America & the Courts," a weekly program focusing on the Judiciary with an emphasis on the Supreme Court.
1987	Court permits C-SPAN to originate live interview and call-in programs from its Press Room.
2/1988	First letter to Chief Justice Rehnquist requesting camera coverage of Supreme Court.
11/1988	Participated in demonstration of potential camera coverage in Supreme Court.
9/1990	C-SPAN airs first live telecast of a federal court proceeding from a military appeals court.
1991	C-SPAN is instrumental in advocating and implementing a 4-year experiment with the Judicial Conference to test television coverage of civil cases before two federal Courts of Appeals and six District Courts.
11/2000	Letter to Chief Justice Rehnquist requesting camera coverage of Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board. Court agreed to release audio only.
12/2000	Letter to Chief Justice Rehnquist requesting live audio release of Bush v. Gore. Received early audio release, not live.
2003	Sent letter requesting early audio release of Grutter v. Bollinger and Graz v. Bollinger. (Affirmative action cases) Court agreed.
2003	Requested early audio release of McConnell v. FEC. (Campaign finance rules) Court agreed.
5/2003	Justice O'Connor participates in C-SPAN's "Student and Leaders" with students at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C.
5/2003	Justice Thomas participates in C-SPAN's "Student and Leaders" with students at Banneker High School.
2004	Requested early audio release in the following cases. Rasul v. Bush and Al Oday v. United States; Cheney v. US District Court; Hamdi v. Rumsfeld; Rumsfeld v. Padilla. Court agreed.
2004	Requested early audio release of Robert v. Simmons. (Execution of juveniles) Denied.
2005	Requested early audio release of Van Orden v. Perry and McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky. (Separation of church and state) Denied.
1/2005	Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduces legislation to televise the Supreme Court Statement. Read
4/2005	C-SPAN airs live a "Constitutional Conversation" moderated by Tim Russert with Justices Breyer, O'Connor and Scalia. They discuss the role and operation of the Court, among other subjects. Watch
10/2005	First letter to Chief Justice Roberts offering C-SPAN capabilities to provide gavel-to-gavel camera coverage of Supreme Court.
11/2005	Requested early audio release of: Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (abortion) and Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights ("don't ask, don't tell" policy). Agreed.
11/2005	C-SPAN CEO Brian Lamb testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the issue of cameras in the Supreme Court. Watch \| Read
11/2005	U.S. House passes provisions of Sunshine in the Courtroom Act Statement. Read
2006	Requested audio release of tape of the investiture of Justice Alito. Denied.
2006	Requested early audio release of voting rights act cases. League of United Latin v Perry; Travis County, Texas v Perry; Jackson v Perry; GI Forum v Perry. Denied.
3/2006	Requested early audio release of Hamdan v Rumsfeld. (Military Tribunals) Court agreed. Press Release
3/2006	Sens. Grassley (R-IA) and Schumer (D-NY) introduced Sunshine in the Courtroom Act Press Release
6/2006	Letter to Chief Justice Roberts requesting simultaneous release of all oral arguments beginning with 2006 term. Denied.
8/2006	C-SPAN's Brian Lamb interviews Chief Justice John Roberts in one of his first television interviews since joining the court. Transcript \| Watch
10/2006	Requested early audio release of Gonzalez v. Planned Parenthood and Gonzalez v. Carhart (abortion ). Court agreed. Press Release
10/2006	C-SPAN airs live a discussion between Justice Scalia and Nadine Strossen, President of the ACLU, called " The State of Civil Liberties." Watch
11/2006	Sent letter requesting early audio release of Parents Involved v. Seattle School District No.1 and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education (affirmative action). Court agreed.
11/2006	Requested early audio release of oral arugments in Parents Involved v. Seattle School District No. 1 and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education (Affirmative action) Court agreed. Press Release
1/2007	Sent letter requesting early audio release of Davenport v. Washington Education Association and Washington v. Washington Education Association (Union dues). Denied.
1/2007	Introduction of the Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2007 in the 110th Congress, co-sponsored by Sens. Grassley (R-IA), Leahy (D-VT) and Schumer (D-NY).
1/2007	Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduces cameras in the Supreme Court legislation. Watch
2/2007	Sent letter requesting early audio release of Rita v. United States and Claiborne v. United States (Federal sentencing guidelines). Denied
2/2007	Rep. Ted Poe (D-TX/2nd), a former judge, delivers a floor speech about opening the court to cameras. Watch
2/2007	Sens. Specter and Cornyn discuss cameras in the courts with Justice Anthony Kennedy during Judiciary Committee hearing. Sen. Specter questions Justice Kennedy directly. Watch \| Sen. Cornyn remarks on his experience with cameras. Watch \| Watch Hearing
3/2007	Justices Kennedy and Thomas comment on cameras in the court before a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the FY08 Supreme Court budget. Watch Justice Kennedy \| Watch Justice Thomas
3/2007	Sent letter requesting early audio release of FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life and McCain v. Wisconsin Right to Life (Campaign Finance). Denied.
3/7/2007	Sent letter requesting camera coverge of 3rd circuit CBS vs. FCC hearing on Telelvision Indecency Standards. Received permission for audio only.
8/16/2007	Aired camera footage of Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals 8/15/07 oral argument in two cases on the government's warrantless wiretapping program. Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, Inc. v. Bush Hepting v. AT&T
9/11/2007	Aired same-day audio of CBS vs. FCC hearing on Telelvision Indecency Standards.
9/27/2007	C-SPAN President Susan Swain tesitifies before House Judiciary Committee on H.R. 2128, Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2007. Watch \| Read Testimony
9/2007	Sent letter requesting early audio release of Medellin v. Texas (Presidential Powers) and Stoneridge Investment v. Scientific-Atlanta (Securities Fraud) Denied.
10/2007	Sent letter requesting early audio release of Boumediene v. Bush & Al Odah v. U.S. (Guantanamo Detainees) Court Agreed. Press Release
11/16/2007	9th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion in Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation v. Bush cites C-SPAN's request to record oral argument and date footage was televised. See footnote 5, page 14969.
12/06/2007	Senate Judiciary Committee votes in favor of sending S. 344 to the full Senate for a vote. The bill would require television coverage of the Supreme Court's open sessions unless a majority of justices vote to block cameras for a particular case.
1/2008	Request for same-day audio release of oral argument in Baze v. Rees (Lethal Injection). Court agreed. Press Release
1/02/2008	Request for same-day audio release of oral argument in Crawford v. Marion County denied.
1/16/2008	NY Times Editorial on Cameras in the Supreme Court.
3/6/2008	The Senate Judiciary Committee passes the "Sunshine in the Courtroom Act" which allows cameras in federal court rooms with a vote of 10-8 with one member abstaining. The bill is referred to the full senate for consideration.
3/2008	Request for same-day audio release of oral argument in District of Columbia v. Heller (DC Gun Law). Agreed. Press Release
3/21/2008	Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Editorial on allowing cameras in the Supreme Court.
4/14/08	Request for same-day audio release of oral argument in Kennedy V. Louisiana denied.


WEB RESOURCES >>

C-SPAN's Cameras In The Court Page
Learn more about what the Justices have said about cameras in the court.

C-SPAN Timeline
C-SPAN Timeline on Cameras in the Court

C-SPAN's Supreme Court Page
Research video, correspondence, testimony and other resources

Senate Judiciary Committee
Research hearings, testimony and Senator's statements

RTNDA Resources
The Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) offers a state-by-state guide on the laws regarding cameras in the courtroom.

ALL WEB RESOURCES >>