Grassley, Leahy urge Supreme Court to start releasing same-day audio of arguments

The current and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee are calling on Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to release same-day audio recordings of all arguments before the high court.

In a letter Friday, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) urged Roberts to make the court’s proceedings more transparent beginning next term. 

“Headlines across the country demonstrate how deeply interested the American public is in the proceedings of our Nation’s highest court,” they wrote.

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“Providing same-day audio recordings of all oral arguments would empower Americans to become more informed participants in our system of government.”

Grassley and Leahy noted that the court was able to provide same-day audio of arguments this term in the case against President Trump’s travel ban.

“Transparency should be the rule, not the exception,” they said. “We note that the Court’s current practice of posting audio recordings at the end of each week stands in stark contrast to the practice of nearly every other federal circuit, some of which provide live-streaming of oral arguments to listeners across the country and around the world.”

The letter comes as the Senate is gearing up for a bitter fight over who will replace Justice Anthony Kennedy. The court’s pivotal swing voter rocked Washington last week when he announced hours after Roberts adjourned the court for its summer recess that he would retire at the end of July.

Trump said last week that he had narrowed his list to five candidates from a previously released list of 25 potential nominees. He said two of the finalists are women and added he would announce his pick on July 9.

The vacancy gives Trump the chance to shift the court’s ideological balance decisively to the right for a generation. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said he plans to hold a confirmation vote this fall, but Democrats are demanding the vacancy be held open until after the midterm elections in November.