Supreme Court posts digital advances
The U.S. Supreme Court will post transcripts Friday of George W. Bush's appeal of the Florida ballot recount
The U.S. Supreme Court, preparing for a hearing that may help determine
the next president of the United States, has taken a small step forward
in the Digital Age.
On Friday, the justices will hear an appeal by lawyers representing
George W. Bush on the disputed ballot recounts in Florida — and the court
will make available transcripts of these oral arguments on its Web site
the same day.
It usually takes the court 10 to 15 days to post a transcript online.
But Chief Justice William Rehnquist broke with tradition and ordered the
transcripts posted within hours of the Friday morning hearing. The legal
briefs in the case also will be available on the {http://www.supremecourtus.gov}
Supreme Court's Web site, which was launched in April.
Additionally, Rehnquist will allow audio recordings of Friday's session
to be distributed by network news organizations — not via the court's Web
site — a spokeswoman said.
The chief justice turned down requests by CNN and C-SPAN to put a camera
in the courtroom for live coverage of the event.
The justices are considering Bush's assertion that the Florida Supreme
Court illegally allowed ballot recounts to continue beyond a deadline set
by state law. The extended deadline allowed for manual recounts to be included
in the tally to determine whether Bush or Vice President Al Gore had won
the presidential race in Florida.
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