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S 1945
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A bill to permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings.

S. 1945 To permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings.

Introduced Dec 5, 2011

Latest action (Feb 13, 2012) Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 319.

Referred to
Judiciary Committee Administrative Oversight and the Courts Subcommittee
Policy area
Law
Legislative subjects (4)
Broadcasting, cable, digital technologiesDue process and equal protectionSupreme CourtTelevision and film

Summary

This bill would require the Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open sessions of the Court. The Court would be allowed to vote by majority to prohibit television coverage in a particular case only if the justices determine that allowing coverage would violate the due process rights of one or more parties before the Court. The bill adds this requirement to title 28 of the United States Code. The legislation would make Supreme Court proceedings accessible to the public through television broadcasting unless the Court determines that coverage would be detrimental to a particular case.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)
9 cosponsors

Money behind the sponsor

Top reported contributors to Richard J. Durbin’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.

  • SIMMONS HANLY CONROY LLC $19,133
  • THE GORI LAW FIRM $18,300
  • CLIFFORD LAW OFFICES PC $17,750
  • POWER ROGERS & SMITH LLP $17,300
  • MAUNE RAICHLE HARTLEY FRENCH & MUDD $14,638

Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Richard J. Durbin → · Outside spending →

Actions (6)
  1. Feb 13, 2012 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 319. · senate
  2. Feb 13, 2012 Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Leahy without amendment. Without written report. · senate
  3. Feb 9, 2012 Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably. · senate
  4. Dec 6, 2011 Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 112-584. · senate
  5. Dec 5, 2011 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8186) · senate
  6. Dec 5, 2011 Introduced in Senate

More bills on these subjects (8)

Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).

  • S 1146 — Cameras in the Courtroom Act (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 2361 — Cameras in the Courtroom Act (shares 4 subjects)
  • S 1133 — Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2025 (shares 3 subjects)
  • HR 7006 — Financial Services and General Government and National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026 (shares 2 subjects)
  • S 2296 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (shares 2 subjects)
  • HR 5311 — CABLE Expansion Act (shares 2 subjects)
  • HR 5290 — Cable Transparency Act (shares 2 subjects)
  • SRES 259 — A resolution recognizing June 2, 2025, as the 39th anniversary of C-SPAN chronicling democracy in the Senate. (shares 2 subjects)

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

  • HR 2361 — Cameras in the Courtroom Act · Introduced Mar 26, 2025 · Cong. 119 56%
  • S 1146 — Cameras in the Courtroom Act · Introduced Jun 23, 2026 · Cong. 119 55%
  • S 410 — Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2011 · Introduced Dec 6, 2011 · Cong. 112 54%
  • HR 4124 — Restoring Judicial Separation of Powers Act · Introduced Jun 25, 2025 · Cong. 119 53%
  • HR 7712 — Supreme Court Families Security Act of 2022 · Introduced Nov 1, 2022 · Cong. 117 53%
  • S 1814 — Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2025 · Introduced May 20, 2025 · Cong. 119 52%

Text versions (2)
  • Reported to Senate · Feb 13, 2012
  • Introduced in Senate · Dec 5, 2011

Full text

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

December 5, 2011

Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Harkin, and Mrs. Gillibrand) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

February 13, 2012

Reported by Mr. Leahy, without amendment

A BILL

To permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AMENDMENT TO TITLE 28.

(a) In General.—Chapter 45 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following: “Sec. 678. Televising Supreme Court proceedings “The Supreme Court shall permit television coverage of all open sessions of the Court unless the Court decides, by a vote of the majority of justices, that allowing such coverage in a particular case would constitute a violation of the due process rights of 1 or more of the parties before the Court.”.

(b) Clerical Amendment.—The chapter analysis for chapter 45 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following:

“678. Televising Supreme Court proceedings.”. Calendar No. 319

112th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 1945

A BILL

To permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings.

February 13, 2012

Reported without amendment

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