Prompt release of tapes on abortion cases

The Supreme Court announced on Thursday that it would release promptly the audotapes of the two hours of oral argument next Wednesday in the abortion cases — Gonzales v. Carhart (05-380) and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood (05-1382). Those cases test the constitutionality of the 2003 law banning a procedure that abortion opponents call “partial-birth abortion.” The law has been struck down by three federal appeals courts; two of those rulings are at issue in the Wednesday hearings.

The Court’s press release announcing the details of the audiotapes’ release can be found here. The decision to release the tapes was made in response to requests to do so.

This is the first time this Term that the Court has authorized the same-day release of the audio recordings. The Court said the tapes will be available “shortly after the conclusion of each of the arguments.” Carhart, an Eighth Circuit case, is to be heard at 10 a.m., and Planned Parenthood, a Ninth Circuit case, at 11 a.m.

Under a practice that began this Term, the Court releases the written transcripts of oral arguments within two to three hours after the conclusion of each hearing. In the past, when the Court has promptly released audiotapes in major cases, privately-made written transcripts could be composed off of the audiotapes when those were played on broadcast media.

Since beginning the occasional practice of same-day release of audiotapes, the Court has released a total of 12 arguments — beginning with one of the presidential election cases in 2000, Bush v. Palm Beach County.