The BLT: The Blog of the Legal Times offers a terrific post about the moment when several members of the Supreme Court were accosted, sort of, by Rep. John Culberson of Texas. During a perfunctory annual hearing before a Congressonal committee, Culberson turned on his camera and pointed it at Supremes Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer, to make a point about transparency. And how the Supreme Court needs more of same, since it bans live video and live audio coverage of oral arguments:
"It's a very easy matter on the Internet," Culberson said, and to prove it, he took out a device, aimed at the justices and announced that at that very moment, their visages were being seen live on the Internet. (You can see Culberson's video at this link.) The justices were startled, but smiled for the camera (C-SPAN's cameras were also rolling.)
Check out Culberson's short video here. Here is his home on Qik.
Prediction: More members of Congress are going to be doing stuff like this. And hopefully elected officials at all levels. I live in a county where claims of "executive session" are way too common. That would be a great time for a Culberson.
Culberson is also active on Twitter.
Hat tip: Sunlight Foundation.
