The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals announced today that, beginning next week, it will offer live audio streaming of all oral arguments. That announcement continues the Ninth Circuit’s trend of making its proceedings more accessible to the public in real time. That court has set a good example for other Circuit Courts of Appeals, including the Third Circuit.
As a new calendar year begins, there remains no reason why real time video streaming of all appellate arguments cannot occur, as the Supreme Court of New Jersey has done since January 3, 2005. Until the Courts of Appeals are ready for that, however, audio streaming is a good first step.