Just where is the Supreme Court’s jury box?

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By Danielle Ulman
Dolan Media Newswires

When people ask Brian Lamb, CEO of C-SPAN, when we’re going to see cameras in the Supreme Court, instead of answering, he asks them a question instead.

“Where is the jury box in the Supreme Court?” he asks.

Lamb told a group of lawyers, journalists and court public information officers at a conference on modern media and the courts (put on by the Reynolds National Center for Courts & Media) the surprising thing is how many people say, “Oh, yeah, it’s right next to the chief justice.”

D’oh.

Sounds like we could use cameras in the Supreme Court, and pronto.

Some outsiders, like Arlen Specter, have wanted to mandate cameras in the court and gotten nowhere. Other insiders, like Justice Anthony Kennedy, have asked Congress not to consider allowing cameras in the court.

Lamb said he has sent the justices letters detailing why he believes cameras in the court would be best for the public, but he realizes it’s not his letters that are going to change their minds.

The Supreme Court will open its doors to cameras when the justices decide it’s time for the public to know the location of the jury box.