D.C. Circuit Will Post Audio to the Internet

Chief Judge Merrick B. Garland kindly responded today to my letter of yesterday.

The D.C. Circuit has voted unanimously to begin posting audio to its website. The court actually voted last week to make the change, so I can't take any credit. But I do get to announce it!

Here are some of the details:

     *The new policy goes into effect on September 9, the start of the D.C. Circuit's 2013-2014 Term.

     *Audio will be available by 3:00pm on the same day as the oral argument, on the D.C. Circuit website.

     *An archive going back to the 2007-2008 Term will also be available.

This is a great development for public access to one of the nation's most important courts.

Letter to D.C. Circuit Re: Audio Access Policy

This letter was sent today to Chief Judge Merrick B. Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Dear Chief Judge Garland:

After reading the D.C. Circuit’s new media policy, which welcomes media coverage of cases to inform the public, I am writing to ask for your consideration of a related matter: access to argument audio.  My interest is as a lawyer, freelance journalist, and citizen.

The U.S. Supreme Court and eight federal appellate circuits make argument audio available in pending cases, via their websites, free of charge.  Five circuits, including the D.C. Circuit, do not.

Of those five circuits, the D.C. Circuit’s policy is the most restrictive, granting no public access until a case is closed.  The Second, Sixth, and Eleventh Circuits make audio available in pending cases, via CD purchase.  The Tenth Circuit requires a motion to obtain audio; if granted, a copy is emailed.  Per a call to the Tenth Circuit clerk’s office this morning, those motions are routinely granted.

The D.C. Circuit hears cases that affect citizens throughout the country; as a current example, the recess-appointments matter.  Members of the media who do not happen to be in D.C. are not able to listen to and report on D.C. Circuit arguments.  There are also interested members of the public and the legal community in other parts of the country who would like to listen to and inform themselves directly of these crucial, public proceedings, but are unable to do so.  The courtroom cannot always accommodate all interested persons in D.C., either.

This gap of public access is particularly notable since the Supreme Court, famously cautious on access, has been posting its audio to the web since 2010.  The nearby Federal and Fourth Circuits both post audio to the web.

It would be a meaningful step forward for public information, if the D.C. Circuit would review its current policy and join the Supreme Court and most of its sister circuits in offering free access to argument audio online.

Thank you for your consideration.

D.C. Circuit Presentation: Deleted Scenes

The only problem with covering a recent panel presentation by three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was narrowing down the material. The original report, which told what the judges had to say about the sequester and the recess appointments case, ran at Above the Law, linked here.

Below are some "deleted scenes" from the excellent presentation by Chief Judge Merrick Garland, Judge Thomas Griffith, and Senior Judge Laurence Silberman, as part of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society's annual conference held last week at Georgetown Law.

*Silberman sees the decline in law school applications as a "healthy shakeout." There are too many good people going into law, he said.

*Griffith's advice for life is to "be nice," because it is the right thing to do. If you do not care about doing the right thing and just want to get ahead, his advice is the same. You never know when your paths will cross with someone again.

*Garland fielded a question about work-life balance. He does not want to hold himself up as an example; he works very hard. But one thing he did do when his kids were growing up was drive them to school. They always had that half hour together at the beginning of the day. Sometimes it was just "a bunch of sarcasm" or listening to the radio. But other times, his kids would tell him what they were "thinking and worrying about," and he values those times.

*When Garland was giving the last comment, he explained, "I don't leave at five and come in at ten....It's not my way." Silberman, the senior judge on the panel, jumped in with, "It's my way."

*Garland likes to do his own writing. "Don't feel 'dissed' if I don't use your language," he tells his clerks, "in the current vernacular."

*Silberman seemed to commit a cardinal sin of the D.C. Circuit and fall into his own personal pet peeve. Acronyms are disfavored at the circuit, and court rules require an acronym glossary in briefs.

When Silberman mentioned FERC during the presentation, Garland spelled out "Federal Energy Regulatory Commission" and added, with a hint of tongue in cheek, "We don't like acronyms in our court." (In Silberman's defense, FERC is one of the acronyms approved in the D.C. Circuit's practice handbook.)

*Griffith quoted James McPherson, who wrote that Abraham Lincoln "was not a quick study but a thorough one." You do not need to be the most brilliant person, Griffith posited, if you are thorough.

*Silberman remarked that with administrative decisions, one person should make the calls. From his law firm days, he remembers an extended debate over which floor the library would be on.

Guest Post at Above the Law

I have a guest post at Above the Law today: New D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Dreading the Sequester. It is based on a great panel discussion I attended Saturday at Georgetown Law, as part of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society's annual conference.