High court to release ‘expedited’ audio from gay marriage case

The Supreme Court on Thursday announced it will expedite the release of audio recordings in the new same-sex marriage case, handing a small victory to transparency advocates.

The court said it would release the audio recordings of the oral argument on the same day the case is heard, April 28. Audio recordings are usually delayed until the Friday after the proceedings take place.

The court has made the exception in rare cases before, although the step is unlikely to satisfy news organizations and transparency advocates who have long argued for greater access to the court, including allowing cameras inside. 

The case, Obergefell v. Hodges, which has been consolidated with a number of others, will explore the question of whether states are allowed to ban gay marriage — an issue the court sidestepped in an earlier decision in 2013. 

“The court will post the audio recording and unofficial transcript as soon as the digital files are available for uploading to the Website. The audio recording and transcript should be available no later than 2 p.m. on April 28,” the court said in a statement, describing it as an “expedited” release. 

It made a similar exception, when it heard a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013 and did the same with a case challenging ObamaCare in 2012. It denied a request to do the same with another challenge to the healthcare law that was heard earlier this week. 

The court has been hesitant to open itself up to the public, fearing that the presence of cameras could warp the dynamics of debate. The court releases same-day transcripts of the proceedings and reserves a small number of seats for the public. But while the court has been recording the audio of proceedings since 1955, it only began a weekly release of those recordings in 2010.