Barrett to keep ‘open mind’ on cameras in SCOTUS
"I would certainly keep an open mind about allowing cameras in the Supreme Court," Barrett said during her Senate confirmation hearing under questioning by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, who has long advocated such a step.
"Many of us believe that allowing cameras in the courtroom would open the courts to the public and bring a better understanding of the judiciary," Grassley said.
Advocates of cameras in the courtroom argue that it is an important step to allow transparency in the judicial process. Some U.S. state and local courts permit cameras and allow live TV broadcasts of certain proceedings, but federal courts largely do not.
Grassley has been pushing for the introduction of cameras to the Supreme Court for at least 15 years and has introduced legislation that would allow video coverage of court proceedings.
Neither video nor still cameras are allowed in the Supreme Court chamber. But the court, in a break with precedent, allowed live audio of its oral arguments at the end of its most recent term and during its current term as it hears cases by teleconference due to the coronavirus pandemic.
