Justice Alito speaks at UK; makes case against televising arguments

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito says oral arguments before the court would turn into a “forum for soundbites” if they were televised.

Alito told a University of Kentucky audience on Thursday night that televising arguments would not make for riveting TV. And he joked that allowing C-SPAN to cover the Supreme Court might result in the court having the same popularity rating as Congress, which is already covered by C-SPAN.

Alito offered his audience a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life as a justice.

On the topic of TV cameras in the courtroom, he pointed to a snippet of the arguments the court heard in the first case involving President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. Alito noted that opponents of the law used a snippet of the arguments for a TV commercial.