[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 21]
[House]
[Pages 29361-29362]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     FILM SUPREME COURT PROCEEDINGS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, over the past year I have addressed many issues 
I have with the judgments handed down by the highest court of our 
country, the Supreme Court, right across the street.
  Recent rulings by the Supreme Court of the United States, 
particularly pertaining to the separation of church and

[[Page 29362]]

State, property rights, the right to say the pledge of allegiance, and 
the use of foreign law by our Supreme Court in interpreting the 
American Constitution, have prompted an outcry by the American people 
and a growing interest, or better yet, confusion, confusion on how 
those decisions are made.
  The decisions made by the Supreme Court have a direct impact on the 
lives of Americans and every American in the future. With that said, I 
believe it is past time that every American be afforded the opportunity 
to see how those decisions are made in this Court.
  I filed legislation that would allow cameras to broadcast Supreme 
Court proceedings so that we can all see the arguments made before the 
Supreme Court and how they make those decisions that affect our lives 
from now on.
  I am no stranger to cameras in the courtroom. I was one of the first 
Texas judges to allow cameras in the courtroom. In addition, I was the 
first judge in Texas to oversee a capital murder trial broadcast in its 
entirety on television. Our sense of justice says the more open and 
public a trial, the more likely justice will occur.
  I found that cameras only enhanced this concept. As a criminal court 
judge for 20 years, I have had countless cases covered by the media 
from all over the world. Critics argue that attorneys play to the 
cameras; but the truth is, they play to the jury. They always have 
played to the jury. Juries are the ones that make the decisions, not 
the audience.
  Courts have the ability to prevent filming of the jurors, child 
witnesses, assault victims while letting the community see the public 
trial. Cameras make the ability of the people to view justice as it is 
in progress.
  In the case of cameras broadcasting the Supreme Court hearings, there 
is no jury, just nine Justices who have the final say on the American 
Constitution. Because of the magnitude of the rulings handed down by 
this Court, these proceedings above all others should be as open to the 
public as possible.
  While the hearings are, in fact, open to the public, not everyone has 
the ability to travel to Washington, D.C. and view these proceedings. 
This is why it is precisely time to come to the reality to open the 
Supreme Court to public hearings and allow their proceedings to be 
filmed by cameras.
  Cameras can be unobtrusive. There are no big lights. There are no big 
cameras. In fact, many people do not even realize there are cameras in 
this Chamber. So it is time to film these proceedings. Opening these 
proceedings to the American public is much more important than seeing 
the child molestation trial of the King of Pop or the murder trial of 
some ex-football player.
  Yet there was no concern over viewing these proceedings on 
television. Why should there be concern over a Court that has the final 
say on how our Constitution is interpreted? This year the Iraqi 
country, the Iraqi people have formed a new democracy, and part of that 
is a new judiciary. And yet they are already filming their trials, 
because the tyrant of the area, Saddam Hussein, his trial is on 
international television. This is their democracy and their courts seem 
to be somewhat more open than even ours.
  Those judges and critics who do not want the public to view what they 
are doing in those courtrooms, Mr. Speaker, maybe should not be doing 
what they are doing behind those closed doors. It is time to open the 
Supreme Court to public viewing of their proceedings on television.

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