A law professor argues the Supreme Court should hold oral arguments outside Washington, D.C., rotating through the cities where federal appeals courts already sit en banc — Boston, Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, and others — to make the Court's work visible beyond the small number of people who can camp outside its building for a seat. The piece notes the justices currently allow only timed, two-minute group photographs when a new member joins, still ban cameras in the courtroom, and mostly appear together only at ceremonial events like inaugurations, where Alito has compared their role to sitting like 'potted plants.'
The proposal envisions justices traveling in ideologically mixed pairs to model civility, visiting law schools, meeting local press, and holding private listening sessions with community groups — with recording devices banned to prevent grandstanding. The author points to Justice Kagan's joint congressional testimony with Justice Barrett as a template, while criticizing the current book-tour circuit, where justices sometimes push audiences to buy books, as no substitute for genuine public exposure.
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