Live audio broadcasts of some proceedings in civil and bankruptcy cases have been approved by federal court leaders, scaling back a policy that began during the coronavirus pandemic and expanded public access to the courts. The Judicial Conference of the United States, the policymaking body for the courts, did not consider loosening rules to allow the broadcasting of criminal cases, an issue members of Congress have pressed because of the plananed federal trials of former President Trump. The conference did not discuss ethics concerns facing the Supreme Court amid criticism from Democratic lawmakers, reports the Washington Post. The conference traditionally has not allowed cameras or live broadcasts from federal courtrooms. During the pandemic, judges were permitted to set up remote audio access for any civil or bankruptcy proceeding because of the restricted access to courthouses. The new policy, which takes effect Sept. 22, will allow judges to provide access only to non-trial proceedings in civil or bankruptcy cases that do not involve witness testimony. The conference is reviewing whether such access increases the potential for witness intimidation or complicates sequestration when proceedings are available to people not present in the courtroom.
The conference is made up of 26 federal judges and led by Chief Justice John Roberts. The chairman of the executive committee, Judge Lavenski Smith, said participants did not discuss a request from Democrats that the conference investigate omissions in past financial disclosure reports filed by Justice Clarence Thomas. In April, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) asked the conference to look into Thomas’s failure to disclose travel and real estate deals with longtime friend and benefactor Harlan Crow. In Thomas’s most recent annual report, issued last month, detailed private jet travel with the Dallas billionaire businessman and updated his filings to include a property sale years ago to Crow. Smith said some lawmakers who addressed the conference Tuesday generally raised the issue of Supreme Court ethics. Congressional Democrats have backed legislation to impose an ethics policy on the nine justices. Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard Durbin (D-IL) told the judges it saddens him that the high court is facing an ethical crisis, adding that he described the crisis as being of the court’s own making, in part because of the lack of an enforceable policy.
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