GOP senator: It’s time for ‘Supreme Court TV’

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is renewing his push to put cameras in the Supreme Court, as the justices prepare for oral arguments Tuesday on legalizing same-sex marriage.

Members of the Supreme Court are, by and large, against allowing TV cameras to record oral arguments, with former Justice David Souter once going so far as to say, “The day you see a camera come into our courtroom, it’s going to roll over my dead body.”

{mosads}”Well, it happens I don’t want those two supreme court justices to die, but I believe that we could enhance people’s understanding of the court system by having the Supreme Court TV, very much so, and we’re going to try to push it,” Grassley told reporters Monday at the National Press Club. 

Grassley added that the issue cuts across party lines, complicating the debate. 

“Now I didn’t mention that in my remarks because it divides both Republicans and Democrats. You are going to have a bipartisan group to get it passed, and you are going to have a bipartisan group against it. It’s not quite as easily predictable,” he said. 

Grassley and Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) have reintroduced legislation to allow cameras in all open sessions, unless a majority of justices voted that the coverage could violate the due process rights of a party involved in a particular case.

Similar legislation has been introduced in the House. 

The issue has garnered increased attention recently with high-profile cases before the court, including argument on the constitutionality of state-level bans on gay marriage this week. 

Most of the justices have opposed any move to open up the courts to cameras, fearing it could change the dynamic inside the courtroom, and clips could be misunderstood or taken out of context.