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Connolly Sends Letter to Chief Justice Roberts Urging Release of Audio Recordings

Members Push for Accessible Audio Recording of Arguments in Trump v. Hawaii

Today, U.S. Representatives Gerald E. Connolly (VA-11), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Jerry Nadler (NY-10), Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), and Hank Johnson (GA-04) sent the following letter to Chief Justice John Roberts in support of the release of audio recording of arguments in Trump v. Hawaii. Click here for the signed letter or see below.

The Hon. John G. Roberts, Jr.
Chief Justice of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
One First Street NE
Washington, D.C., 20543

Dear Chief Justice Roberts:

Due to the heightened national interest in the case, we write to urge the Supreme Court to provide an audio recording of arguments in 17-965, Trump v. Hawaii, on the Court’s website immediately after the April 25 hearing has concluded.

Last February, more than 2.6 million people listened to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ livestream of the first iteration of the executive order in question, either via that court’s live audio feed or through the various news outlets that ran the feed live on the air. Then in May, arguments in Trump v. IRAP in the Fourth Circuit were also livestreamed due to immense public interest.

The Supreme Court acknowledged the considerable public attention on the issues raised in Trump v. Hawaii when the press office posted an advisory on September 6, 2017, noting that “seating for the press” would be “limited” for an earlier version of this case, just as it was for other high-profile arguments this term on cloud computing, public sector unions, First Amendment rights, sports betting, cell tower data and gerrymandering.

Giving the American people direct and timely access to this case means that more citizens will have the opportunity to experience firsthand the care with which the Court considers the issues that affect the country and its public discourse.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

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