How Supreme Court Oral Arguments Have Transformed Since Covid-Era Precautions
New York Times · LC · trust 35/100
Live audio, a new format and new voices have transformed and unsettled the court’s signature public ceremony.
Listen · 14:07 min Share full article 0 Stopgap measures the Supreme Court began in 2020 during Covid have led to fundamental changes in the court’s signature public arguments. Credit... Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times By Adam Liptak
Part interrogation of the lawyers before them and part conversation among the justices, those sessions are not as important as the written briefs submitted by the parties. But the arguments that follow those submissions are essentially the only way the public can see the court at work.
The ritual had hardly changed in 50 years until the spring of 2020, when the pandemic ousted the justices from the courtroom for 18 months.
Scrambling for a solution, they decided to hold arguments by telephone, revised how they posed questions and let the public listen in.
Those improvised stopgap measures turned out to be the start of a fundamental transformation of the court’s signature ceremony.
When the justices returned to the bench in October 2021, their approach to oral arguments had undergone a revolution. The aftershocks are still reverberating.
Average number of words each justice spoke per case, 2005-2026
Note: Recent arguments have tended to be longer, with more words spoken overall.
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