Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said Thursday he is skeptical of adding cameras to the high court, saying the technology would change the nature of oral arguments.
"Why not cameras in the courtroom? It's a risk," Breyer said at the American Constitution Society's national convention in Washington. "There's no going back."
Senators have proposed multiple bills about adding cameras to federal courts and the Supreme Court, with companion legislation moving through the House. Justice Neil Gorsuch said during his confirmation hearing that he would be "open" to having cameras in the Supreme Court but did not take a position on televised open proceedings. That position differs greatly from the late Justice Antonin Scalia, whose seat Gorsuch filled.
Breyer noted that some of his "friends in the press" had warned him against supporting the addition of cameras to the Supreme Court, and he noted that he sometimes said "ridiculous" things during oral arguments. With cameras recording the conversations, the tone and nature of arguments could change, he said.
But Breyer, whose most recent book was on sale at the convention, did not sound thrilled about writing, either.
"Writing is always a strain; it's always agony," Breyer said. "I think the pleasure that you get out of writing is that you finish."
Breyer was introduced at the American Constitution Society's national convention by Ketanji Brown Jackson, a district court judge in D.C., who was reportedly under consideration by former President Brack Obama to fill the vacancy created by Justice Antonin Scalia's death. Breyer avoided discussion of current events and politics surrounding the high court but noted that the decline in cases heard by the Supreme Court was not the result of an agenda from the justices.
"People are looking for cases to grant," Breyer insisted.
He repeated his call for reconsideration of the death penalty and questioned the authority provided under the Constitution to carry out executions.
Breyer's remarks at the left-leaning American Constitutional Society's annual convention come as the Supreme Court's term is coming to a close. The Supreme Court has concluded its oral arguments for the current term and is expected to issue a flurry of opinions and orders this month before the term ends.
