Court TV

SO I have been thinking more about public access to government and the judiciary. In a conference 2 years ago I watched a presentation about how day time tv court dramas have affected the common mans view of the courts. While it did help them understand they needed evidence or documentation it also gave them a false sense that minorities were represented in judgeships.

Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled on whether they should allow video of the Prop 8 fight in CA to be broadcast. In a 5-4 decision they ruled no. Justice Breyer dissented, joined by Justices Stevens, Ginsburg, and Sotomayor. I still would like to read the opinion to try and understand the logic more. I think it would be a good thing to have a more open conversation about Prop 8 and gay marriage. One where people can not hide behind bigotry but need to logically explain why they think it necessary to deprive rights from others.

Now with Twitter, facebook, blackberrys and all other social media we constantly stream, it does seem that there is a barricade in the courts. I used to think opening up courts would just turn courts into circuses but now I think it might help hold people liable for their actions/arguments.

A law student right now is doing something on his own vein. He is attempting to be the first person in line for all this term of the supreme court. (http://f11f.wordpress.com/) There is no denying social media is here, now I think the court just needs to keep up.