Supreme Court proceedings, long kept out of the view of most Americans, would be televised under a bipartisan bill approved Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Justices have long opposed TV cameras in their courtroom, saying they would be disruptive.
But backers say such coverage would help provide public scrutiny.
On a vote of 11 to 7, the committee sent the measure to the full Senate for consideration. The committee approved a similar bill last year, but it failed to become law.
Among other cases, the nine-member court is expected to decide later this year the legality of President Obama’s landmark overhaul of the U.S. health-care system.
The bill would require television coverage of all of the court’s open sessions, unless the justices decide by a majority vote that it would violate the due process rights of those before the panel.
The measure’s chief sponsors are Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa).
“As the final arbiter of constitutionality, the Supreme Court decides the most pressing and often most controversial issues of our time,” Durbin said. “In a democratic society that values transparency and participation, there can be no valid justification for such a powerful element of government to operate largely outside the view of the American people.”
Grassley said: “Our Constitution requires that the government be accountable to the people. The best way we can ensure that the federal government is accountable is to create transparency, openness and access.
“This is a tremendous opportunity which would help increase understanding of, and appreciation for, the highest court in the land.”
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