U.S. Supreme Court orders stay in YouTube webcast of Perry trial

01/11/10 SCOTUS Blog and 01/11/10 Firedog Lake:

Just two hours before the Perry trial was scheduled to begin today at noon, the U.S. Supreme Court has ordered a stay of the YouTube webcast. The stay will last until at least 4 p.m. EST on January 13th.

Here is the docket in the U.S. Supreme Court case.

(Thanks to an anonymous reader for alerting me to the latest news on the question of the YouTube webcast.)

01/11/10 SF Chronicle:

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who approved the camera coverage last week in what would be a first for a federal trial, said as the case got under way Monday that "we'll see what guidance the Supreme Court can provide us."

01/11/10 WordinEdgewise, by law professor John Culhane:

[T]he fact that eight of the justices believe that the application has at least some merit (a least enough for a short stay) surely isn’t a good sign for those, like me, that planned on some good popcorn viewing over the next several weeks ... Of course, one might seize on my phrase “popcorn viewing” in support of the position that allowing the citizenry to watch trials of national importance is to permit their trivialization. But if we’re going to let people vote on rights, it seems the least we should do is to let the oppressed see the arguments being used against us.

01/11/10 Gay Couples Law Blog, by law student Gideon Alper:

If you were looking forward to watching the trial on YouTube, don't be discouraged. The Supreme Court's order temporarily stopping the broadcasting doesn't mean that the Court will ultimately disallow it. However, it does mean that the first few days of the trial will be unavailable. Because the Supreme Court's order includes prohibiting cameras in the court room, it's not possible that videos of the trial during this temporary ban could be uploaded later.

01/11/10 Firedog Lake News and 01/11/10 Huffington Post, by In re Marriage Cases plaintiff Robin Tyler

FNL News reports on reaction by gay rights advocates; Tyler describes her reaction.

Emily Bazelon, Blind Justice: The Supreme Court blacks out the YouTubing of the gay-marriage trial, 01/11/10