Scalia: Cameras in the court will "miseducate" people

(CBS News) Both Democrats and Republicans have for years urged the Supreme Court to allow cameras into the high court, but Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said that video footage would only serve to "miseducate the American people."

In an interview with C-SPAN that will air Sunday, Scalia said that watching remarks from the Supreme Court taken out of context would be more damaging than simply reading the remarks out of context in a newspaper.

"Somehow when you see it live, an excerpt pulled out of an entire, when you see it live, it has a much greater impact," Scalia told C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb. "No, I am sure it will miseducate the American people, not educate."

The conservative justice said that if the American people watched the court proceedings "gavel to gavel" they would understand "we're not usually contemplating our navel, 'should there be a right to this or that, should there be a right to abortion'... That's not usually what we're doing. We're usually dealing with the Internal Revenue Code."

However, Scalia said that people wouldn't watch proceedings in their entirety.

"Your outfit would carry it all, to be sure," Scalia said to the C-SPAN founder, "but what most of the American people would see would be 30-second, 15-second takeouts from our argument, and those takeouts would not be characteristic of what we do. They would be uncharacteristic."

Members of Congress have long said cameras in the courtroom would add more transparency to the democratic process. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, first introduced legislation that would allow cameras in the Supreme Court in 1999. After that, the Supreme Court began releasing audio, after the fact, of oral arguments.

Some congressmen and news outlets asked the court to televise its proceedings in the case considering the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, given the historic nature of the case, but the court rejected the request.

[hhandyman]

Court politics like regular politics I believe it was Marc twain or Ben Franklin that said if you like politics and if you like sausage Never watch it made for you will see the truth. so what backroom deals are made in the Supreme court?? yes we will be educated in the big boys ways to divide the constitution according to the wills of the Justices perhaps seeing how corporations got the Unlimited voice (except for their treasury limit and credit limit to buy air time to spew venom in elections.

[sandy 1027]

I couldn't disagree more with Justice Scalia.Airing the cases would give the public help the public to understand the issues involved, and maybe more confidence in the process and institution.

[addict42]

Scalia is totally an elitist snob who thinks the American public, who will tune into the proceedings, are just too dumb to understand it all. He should retire tomorrow.

[Lindag20]

What is he afraid of? People might see him for the hack he is?

[retmw1]

Or thomas sleeping.

[steeepe]

For a Supreme Court Justice, he sure seems like a fool. He's not worried about the poisonous influence of money in politics but is afraid that remarks in the Court may be misinterpreted? Boo Hoo.

[WHAT-IS-HE-SMOKING]

"No, I am sure it will miseducate the American people, not educate."
I am so impressed with how he sees the American people. Yep, he is showing his conservative roots.

[infoworker]

This man is the horse's ass. He thinks the rest of the country is simply too stupid to discern anything.... either that or he just wants to be able to hide his extremism and partianship from the camera where it can be recorded for all time.

[geauxtigersLSU]

So, I finally find myself in agreement with Judge Scalia. The Supreme Court isn't Judge Judy.

[parrot2-2009]

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said that video footage would only serve to "miseducate the American people."
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Out of context in any form is simply 'out of context' ..... and somehow Repugs adore this man ??