WASHINGTON – Ahead of President Trump’s nomination of a Supreme Court Justice to fill the vacancy left by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, makes the case in a video address for increasing transparency and confidence in the federal judiciary by allowing cameras in federal courtrooms. Grassley has made congressional oversight of the executive and judicial branches a top priority during his Senate tenure, recently leading a hearing examining sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct in the judiciary. For many years, Grassley has advocated for increased transparency in the judiciary through the use of cameras in the courtroom, last year introducing bipartisan legislation on the matter with Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Grassley and Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont recently urged the Supreme Court of the United States to release same-day audio recordings of all arguments heard before the high court in order to increase America’s confidence in the rule of law.
Grassley kicked off a summer-long initiative highlighting the importance and responsibility of congressional oversight with a speech at the Heritage Foundation and continued last week with a five-part video series on the history of oversight, including the Lloyd-La Follette Act, Lincoln's Law, Independence Day, the Teapot Dome scandal and whistleblower appreciation.
Grassley speaks on the importance of cameras in the courtroom in a video here and text below.
“Congress is televised. The president has news conferences often. Other things in the executive branch get televised. There’s a lot of misunderstanding about the role of the judicial branch of our government. So I’m proposing, like 45 of our 50 states have, that allow cameras in the courtroom. It brings transparency, it brings educational opportunities. So, I think it’s about time that we have rules mandating cameras in the courtroom including the Supreme Court here so people can see how the judicial branch of government functions so they can be educated about it. But the more important thing is to have respect for the judicial branch and in turn greater respect for the rule of law,” Grassley said.
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