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SCOTUSblog denied press credentials

SCOTUSblog, the Peabody Award-winning blog that covers the Supreme Court "gavel-to-gavel," has been denied a Senate press pass, which in turn means it cannot be issued a press credential for the Supreme Court. The site's publisher said in a post it will appeal the decision and may litigate the issue if necessary.

As SCOTUSblog's publisher, Tom Goldstein, explained in a post on Wednesday, the Supreme Court looks to credentials issued by the Senate Press Gallery before issuing its. Though SCOTUSblog succeeded in obtaining a Senate press pass last year, the court declined to recognize the credential, explaining that it would instead review its credentialing policy.

In its 12 years, SCOTUSblog has never had press credentials at the Supreme Court, instead covering hearings through public seats and reporter Lyle Denniston's credentials from WBUR in Boston.

"All in all, the refusal by the court and the Senate to credential us have always seemed strange. No one seems to doubt that we are a journalistic entity and that we serve a public function," Goldstein wrote.

The site has been fighting for credentials for years, but the process is far from simple, as Poynter noted in a 2012 report.

"We do not want any kind of special treatment. Credentialing the blog doesn’t give us any special power or recognition; it just makes our jobs incrementally easier," Goldstein said.

Update 1:40 p.m.

Siobhan Hughes, Capitol Hill reporter for the Wall Street Journal and chairwoman of the Standing Committee of Correspondents, which made the decision, said in an email that the committee is not commenting on the issue.

Hadas Gold is a reporter at Politico.