US Supreme Court: No Cameras in Gay Marriage Ban Trial

The United States Supreme Court has banned the use of camera during the highly anticipated federal court trial on the constitutionality of California’s ban on same-sex marriage, Wednesday, January 13.

The court ruled 5-4, in the hopes of not turning the trial into a “media circus” and also, so that witnesses who testify will not be intimidated. The 17-page resolution said that the ban stays indefinitely pending any appeal.

The trial started Monday, January 11, in US District Court in San Francisco. It is being presided by Chief Judge Vaughn Walker. Walker have previously agreed to allow video coverage and the US Supreme Court said that they will delay the broadcasting of those videos until they can make a decision.

The justices who were in favor of letting the cameras stay are: John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. They believed that the nation’s highest court should have stayed out of the issue and that access to public trials should be a public benefit.

The five who imposed the ban are Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

The outcome of the trial is highly monitored as it may also overturn similar bans in other states.