Posted on 05/04/2020 7:45:31 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
The Supreme Court on Monday broke with tradition and held oral arguments by conference call, a first for the famously tech-averse tribunal as the justices adapt to the global pandemic.
A live audio feed of the argument a trademark dispute concerning the travel service Booking.com gave the general public unprecedented access to the hearing in real time.
As arguments opened, the justices allowed counsel two minutes of speaking time before posing questions, which began with Chief Justice John Roberts and proceeded to the other justices in order of seniority.
In another rarity, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, who typically remains mum during arguments, posed a series of questions, the first time he has spoken this term. When Thomas spoke during arguments last year, he snapped a three year-silence.
The courts embrace of teleconferencing represents a dramatic step for a court that has traditionally been wary of adopting new technologies, and comes after the court postponed arguments in March and April in order to abide by social-distancing policies.
Six of the nine justices are age 65 or older, placing them in a population that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers to be at risk for serious illness from the coronavirus. The older justices are Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87; Stephen Breyer, 81; Clarence Thomas, 71; Samuel Alito, 70; and John Roberts and Sonia Sotomayor, 65.
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(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
sorry aided = aides.
Will she be in her hospital gown or her royal black robe with a doily around her neck?
We attorneys hate new technology. Causes more problems than it solves.
We cannot forget that 20202 is one of the most important elections just for the fact in the shaping of the Supreme Court. That means keeping Executive and Senate. I have serious doubts about the House. The GOP is worthless.
I’m reading through the Arguments now. It’s kind of interesting that while normally Thomas doesn’t ask questions, if he’s directly asked by the Chief Justice, he will. Probably thinks it would be impolite to just say “no questions”.
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