The Supreme Court will release, for immediate broadcast, the audiotape recordings of two oral arguments in major cases in its next sitting. The Court announced on Friday that audiotapes will be available promptly in the cases of Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (docket 04-1144)on Wednesday, Nov. 30, and Rumsfeld v. FAIR (04-1152) on Tuesday, Dec. 6. No videotapes will be available.
The Ayotte case tests the standard for judging the constitutionality of abortion restrictions, and the validity of a parental notice law for pregnant teenagers when the law does not provide a health exception. The FAIR case is the Pentagon’s appeal on government power to cut off federal funds to law schools that refuse to admit military recruiters to equal participation in campus recruiting sessions because of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy against gays serving in the military.
The same-day release of these audiotapes was requested by C-SPAN, the cable network that has successfully sought quick release of prior Supreme Court argument tapes in major cases.
C-SPAN said in a news release Friday that it would broadcast the two tapes shortly after the conclusion of argument. The Ayotte case is scheduled for oral argument from 11 a.m. to noon on Nov. 30, the FAIR case for 10 to 11 a.m. on Dec. 6.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY