I started to search by advocate. I didn't realize you could do that. Unfortunately, they don't have any William Pinkney arguments. posted by dios at 12:15 PM on February 7, 2006
(by the way: lest someone get upset about the "seen it" shirt. That was a joke based on something I remember monju saying at somet point either here or MetaChat. It was meant as an innocent and playful joke with him. Please don't think I was trying to comment on this awesome, awesome post. Would that were more interesting posts like this. I just wanted to clarify that.) posted by dios at 12:19 PM on February 7, 2006
Excellent post! Thanks so much. posted by OmieWise at 12:38 PM on February 7, 2006
I'm glad they're doing this. It's shameful that SCOTUS doesn't post all their own oral arguments however (though they've put up a few key cases in the past, like Bush v. Gore). It shouldn't take a year+ before we can hear these arguments. And we shouldn't have to rely on the graces of a third party to do so. Thanks for the link, monju_bosatsu. posted by longdaysjourney at 12:50 PM on February 7, 2006
IIRC, Thomas doesn't speak, ever, during oral arguments. He puts it all down in his written opinions.
As an aside, I think it's perfect, really, that the SCOTUS is taped orally and not by video--forces one to pay attention to the verbiage above all else.
Neat post. posted by bardic at 12:55 PM on February 7, 2006
eh. It's very interesting to read and listen to recordings of supreme court arguments, and this post is a great one. I don't think it's shameful, though, that the Court isn't quicker about it or that they don't post all their own oral arguments.
The Circuits don't post any of their oral arguments, and getting them is extremely difficult. West Publishing is a third party, and I don't think there's anything shameful in that.
The bottom line is that there's no reasonable expectation of speedy public access to transcripts or recordings of a court proceeding. In lower courts, it can take months for a trial court record to become available even for an appeal. It's nothing new, and it's nothing to get up in arms about.
That said: Great link, monju_bosatsu. Interesting, informative and, dare I say it, entertaining. posted by JekPorkins at 12:58 PM on February 7, 2006
A student of mine does the podcast. I sent him a link to this thread. His response:
VERY cool :). Funny thing is, I've been playing with the podcast all day, tweaking this that and the next ;). Perhaps more people look at it than I thought. posted by rbs at 1:38 PM on February 7, 2006
(Thomas rarely ever asks questions. My comment about his mic was a lame joke. posted by dios at 1:40 PM on February 7, 2006
my favorite thing on Oyez is this photo of Ginsburg and Scalia on an elephant. posted by subtle-t at 2:17 PM on February 7, 2006
The Circuits don't post any of their oral arguments, and getting them is extremely difficult.
Most of the Circuits make the tapes available for a $26 fee (and the delay is not months-long for most of the Circuits). At least three of the Circuits post recordings of their oral arguments online:
Without the OYEZ project, you'd have to go to the National Archives to get a copy of SCOTUS oral argument tapes (and only after the end of the term). But regardless, SCOTUS is the highest court in the land and its decisions impact significantly larger portions of the citizenry. I don't think asking that it make its oral arguments more easily available is asking for too much. posted by longdaysjourney at 2:45 PM on February 7, 2006
At least three of the Circuits post recordings of their oral arguments online
Cool. Thanks for the links! posted by JekPorkins at 2:50 PM on February 7, 2006
"Thomas rarely ever asks questions. My comment about his mic was a lame joke."
Ah, but you erred, my friend, in assuming that mefites would be aware of this fact.
Yah, Thomas never asks questions. Personally, I think it's because he's easily the least intellect on the court. But maybe he's just shy and asks Scalia to ask his questions for him. posted by Ethereal Bligh at 3:27 PM on February 7, 2006
I think the reason that Thomas doesn't ask questions at oral argument is that he doesn't think there's any point to having oral argument. I wonder how often the justices change their mind about a case after oral argument. I'm betting it's extremely rare. posted by JekPorkins at 4:18 PM on February 7, 2006
You may be right. To the degree to which that's the case, it also may indicate the degree to which most of this is the work of their clerks. Or would it be the other way around? posted by Ethereal Bligh at 6:24 PM on February 7, 2006
The amount of work done by the clerks varies from Justice to Justice, and indeed, from opinion to opinion. Both Justice Scalia and Thomas have consistent styles that suggest that they write their own opinions. That's especially true when they write separately from the opinion of the Court. My understanding is that Supreme Court Justices tend to write more of their own opinions than many of the Circuit Court Judges, simply because of the volume of cases. posted by monju_bosatsu at 6:40 PM on February 7, 2006
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posted by monju_bosatsu at 11:39 AM on February 7, 2006