Supreme Court Approval Rating Dips to 46%
All institutions seem to be taking hits, now the Supreme Court is no different - but its opinion is still higher than that of Congress or the presidency.
From the Atlantic Five: Ex-Solicitor General Kenneth Starr wonders if it is time for the Supreme Court to allow its proceedings to be televised:
"Cameras in the courtroom of the United States Supreme Court are long overdue," writes Kenneth Starr in The New York Times.
Citizens and school groups constantly line up outside the court for
hours to see it in action. "Many who stand in these lines and endure
all-night waits will be disappointed: space in the magnificent courtroom
is very tight." Most Americans will never even try to see it. "
'Equal
justice under law' is the inscription on the face of the court
building. It is time that we the people had equal access to the process
by which that justice is meted out." Improved transparency would advance
our nation's democratic goals of allowing the people to see how the
government works. "Year after year, the court issues decisions that
profoundly affect the nation," and opening up public viewing would only
help the decline in civic literacy.
"Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's fear
is that televising the oral arguments would introduce 'the insidious
temptation to think that one of my colleagues is trying to get a sound
bite for the television.'" But sound recordings are already available.
New forms of media from newspapers to radios have long been feared "for
demagogic potential" before being accepted into the mainstream. "The
idea that cameras would transform the court into 'Judge Judy' is
ludicrous," Starr says. Thankfully, the "old guard" is losing the
battle.
The newest justice, Elena Kagan, recently said, "If everybody
could see this, it would make people feel so good about this branch of
government and how it's operating." "Just so," says Starr. "If the
justices won't open the courtroom doors to cameras -- proxies for the
public eye -- of their own accord, then Congress has the capacity and
the duty to take action.
