The U.S. Supreme Court formally opens its new term next Monday, but today the justices added 13 more cases to its docket and announced a new policy on offering audio recordings of its oral arguments.
None of the cases granted review today involve education.
In this week’s issue of Education Week, I have this story: “K-12 Implications Seen in Some Cases Before High Court,” which discusses, among others, a tuition tax credit case out of Arizona and a case involving a California law that restricts the sale of violent video games to minors.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court’s new audio policy should be a great tool for educators and help the general public understand the work of the court.
The court’s public information office announced that beginning with the new term, audio recordings of all oral arguments will be made available free on the court’s Web site, www.supremecourt.gov, at the end of each argument week.
Heretofore, the court on rare occasions offered same-day audio of oral arguments to the news media. The audio recordings of all cases are maintained by the National Archives, but audio from a court term was not available publicly until the beginning of the court’s next term. Such older recordings are available on the Oyez Web site of Northwestern University.
Under the new policy, audio of all cases will be available beginning Friday afternoons of an argument week. During such weeks, arguments are typically held in six to nine cases on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.
The court will discontinue offering any same-day audio in big cases, Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said.