The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this past Tuesday for Sebelius v Hobby Lobby, one of the cases which brings up the question whether a business can deny its female employees birth control coverage under Obamacare because of the owners’ religious beliefs. As usual, the line for public seating started early. This is the scene Saturday morning:
By Tuesday the line had grown to this:
Only about 100 members of the public are seated for SCOTUS arguments; about another 100 seats are for the press and select choice seats are designated for guests of the Justices. Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom so the majority of Americans never get the opportunity to watch as one of their three branches of government makes important decisions which affect their civil liberties and personal lives.
My take about cameras in the courtroom from the Washington Post’s Post Partisan blog yesterday.
Here’s a good piece by Washington Post blogger Alyssa Rosenberg on the subject of cartoonists being allowed in the court.