Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are displayed on a laptop computer during oral arguments before the Supreme Court in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania in an arranged photograph taken in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Picture: ANDREW HARRER / BLOOMBERG
That is necessary as a short-term expedient to deal with the spread of the coronavirus. It should not become a precedent for politicians and lawyers to avoid dealing openly with public issues, in front of the people who are affected by the political process. But there are a lot of firsts. On Monday the US supreme court heard arguments by telephone, with the audio heard live. Lawyers’ arguments before the court are typically public but not televised. The case was a minor issue, but there are more significant cases on the court’s docket, such as whether President Donald Trump can shield his tax returns and other financial records from scrutiny.