All eyes turn to the Supreme Court this week as the nation awaits its decision on the question of Obamacare’s constitutionality. Without live TV or radio allowed in the court, social media has stepped in and filled a surprisingly large gap.
Though there was a slim possibility of the court’s Obamacare decision being handed down last Thursday, SCOTUSblog had tens of thousands of users following its CoveritLive event. CoveritLive allows for real-time blogging by allowing users to instantly push text, links, and images.
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SCOTUSblog’s veteran reporters are inside the court room pushing text based updates on what is happening and what is being said. Readers are also able to ask their own quesitons of the SOCTUSblog team.
The live-blogging team also updates readers on the more esoteric aspects of the Supreme Court, like this insight, from Thursday, “The Court starts with the most junior Justice who has an opinion and then goes in reverse seniority, ending with the Chief Justice.”
SCOTUSblog’s live coverage begins at 9:00 a.m. EST on Monday and Thursday, an hour before the Court convenes. In preparation for high traffic this week, they’ve moved their live blog to a different website that can handle more traffic, which can be accessed here.
If you’re looking for a clear summary of the legal issue the Court has been asked to examine, their “In Plain English” summaries are helpful, as are their wrap up posts for each decision.
Twitter is also a reliable source of information. Follow the Washington Examiner’s @PhilipAKlein for live tweets. With limited space in the courtroom it’s tough to know beforehand exactly who else will be in the courtroom on Monday and Thursday. However, most of the major media outlets will have a presence inside, so look for their correspondents to provide tweeted updates.
Your best bet for finding out the court’s decision as soon as it’s announced is to keep up with SCOTUSblog’s live updates.
After the initial frenzy when the decision is made, the court’s own website will have the full text of the opinion, available here.
