9th Cir. Judges Ready for Their Close Up? En Banc Hearings Live-Streamed Starting Today

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit was scheduled today to become the first appellate court in the nation to live stream all of its en banc hearings on its Website, the Los Angeles Times reported recently.

Although en banc hearings involving the court's chief judge and 10 other jurists amount to about 20 cases heard by the court annually, video streaming marks progress in the eyes of free press advocates who believe the First Amendment and Sixth Amendment of the Constitution should open all federal courts, including the Supreme Court, to video recording.

Most appellate court cases are decided by three-judge panels. The Times article last week noted the scheduled inaugural video streamed case concerned law enforcement officials collecting and storing arrestees' DNA profiles, even where charges against individuals subsequently dropped.