Jan 13, 2010 by Bruce
Supreme Court again says “no” to TV cameras in Prop 8 courtroom.
Two days ago the Supreme Court issued a temporary stay of Judge Walker’s order permitting live streaming of courtroom video. The court’s order today, which continues the stay pending a full appeal, is here. The vote was 5-4, with a typical conservative/liberal split. (Is anyone surprised that Sotomayor is solidly with the liberal wing of the Court at this point?).
Anyway, more analysis from Ed Whelan can be found here, and from Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSblog here. Technically, the Court’s grant of a stay is only limited to a period of time until the Court can hear a full appeal of Judge Walker’s order. Practically speaking, that probably can’t happen before the trial concludes, keeping the stay in place for the duration. That’s a good result for the witnesses who feared harassment for testifying on behalf of traditional marriage.
The Court’s majority opinion chastised Judge Walker for violating the procedural rules regarding potential televising, but also declared that this particular case was particularly unsuitable for televising:
“This case is…not a good one for a pilot program. Even the studies that have been conducted thus far have not analyzed the effect of broadcasting in high-profile, divisive cases.”
Walker continues to confirm all my prior doubts about him.
