During an interview with CBS This Morning co-host Norah O’Donnell at The Connecticut Forum Thursday night, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer warned against cameras being allowed in the courtroom, saying the media would take Justices and lawyers out of context if there was a video recording of oral arguments in the high court.
O’Donnell highlighted the exchange during the morning show on Friday: “Just days before the new Supreme Court term, Justice Stephen Breyer is sharing his concern about the possibility of putting cameras inside the Court....Breyer said cameras could change the behavior of lawyers and the Justices during oral arguments.”
A clip followed of Breyer telling O’Donnell and the event audience why it was a bad idea:
You all think that you’re immune from changing your behavior because the press is always there after all, they’re always in the room. They hear the oral argument, they’re right in front of us....But wait till you see yourself on television the first time with a picture and they’re saying something, you’re saying those words, and it’s quite clear to you at the time you meant the opposite. But what they’re doing is they’re putting it in such a way that in context it looks as if you’re doing something really unfortunate.
“Wait till you see that. Once you see it, you will watch what you say much more carefully, and I don’t want to watch what I say. I want to say what I think there and find out,” he declared.
O’Donnell seemed convinced by his argument:
...it really got me thinking in a different way last night. He wants to judge a case by what he...reads, not what he sees. And he wants people to see the Court’s decisions that way, too. Think about that, it might allow for a more objective, deliberate reading of the law so that you’re not judging someone by what they look like.
Fellow co-host Gayle King agreed: “And I do think cameras change the tone, change your behavior, if you’re not used to being on TV all the time.”
Charlie Rose countered: “The other side of that argument is at some point you get used to it and it doesn’t have that effect....they forget the cameras are there.”
O’Donnell’s sit-down with Breyer was the second time in a week that one of the CBS morning show hosts interviewed a liberal member of the Court. On Wednesday’s show, Rose touted an exchange with “one of my favorite people,” Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Here is a full transcript of O’Donnell’s September 29 segment about Breyer’s remarks:
8:31 AM ET
NORAH O’DONNELL: Just days before the new Supreme Court term, Justice Stephen Breyer is sharing his concern about the possibility of putting cameras inside the Court. We spoke to the 79-year-old Associate Justice last night in Connecticut. Breyer said cameras could change the behavior of lawyers and the Justices during oral arguments.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Supreme Conversation; Justice Breyer on Why He’s Concerned About Cameras in Court]
STEPHEN BREYER: You all think that you’re immune from changing your behavior because the press is always there after all, they’re always in the room. They hear the oral argument, they’re right in front of us. And I think I say what I think. Unfortunately I sometimes say things that are idiotic, but I’ll get over it.
But wait till you see yourself on television the first time with a picture and they’re saying something, you’re saying those words, and it’s quite clear to you at the time you meant the opposite. But what they’re doing is they’re putting it in such a way that in context it looks as if you’re doing something really unfortunate.
Wait till you see that. Once you see it, you will watch what you say much more carefully, and I don’t want to watch what I say. I want to say what I think there and find out.
O’DONNELL: But Breyer said he does think cameras will eventually be allowed inside the Court. I’m familiar with this argument, but I have to tell you, it really got me thinking in a different way last night. He wants to judge a case by what he sees – excuse me, by what he reads, not what he sees. And he wants people to see the Court’s decisions that way, too. Think about that, it might allow for a more objective, deliberate reading of the law so that you’re not judging someone by what they look like.
GAYLE KING: And I do think cameras change the tone, change your behavior, if you’re not used to being on TV all the time.
CHARLIE ROSE: The other side of that argument is at some point you get used to it and it doesn’t have that effect. Just like Cinema verite, at some point they forget the cameras are there.
KING: They forget the cameras are there.
