Federal Judiciary

An entrance closes, over a dissent

By Akin Gump Supreme Court Practice Group

Beginning tomorrow, the Supreme Court announced today, the public will no longer be able to enter the Court’s building by the main entrance at the top of the steps on the front.  Citing security concerns, the Court said two new entrances beside the steps will now be the public’s main point of entry into the courthouse.  The decision provoked what amounted to dissents from two Justices — Stephen G. Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (although they did not call their remarks a formal dissent).  The two Justices, while acknowledging the security issues, noted that no other supreme court in the world has shut down its front entrance.

The Court’s statement on the issue is here, and the Breyer-Ginsburg statement “concerning” the decision is here.  That statement was entered on the Court’s Journal for today’s proceedings.  The entry reflects who was on the bench today, not the list of Justices taking part in the decision about the entrance; that presumably was decided by the full Court.

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on May 03, 2010 (boomark / email).