Litigation

Supreme Court Shuts ?Nation?s Most Important Portal?

By Peter Hardin

Citing security reasons, the Supreme Court has closed its front entrance to visitors.

To enter the building, visitors will no longer be able to pass under the words “Equal Justice Under Law” and through 1,300-pound bronze doors past the columned and iconic entryway, according to an Associated Press article.

The decision sparked a dissent view, of sorts, by two justices. Alluding to Supreme Court architect Cass Gilbert, Justice Stephen Breyer said in a statement joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:

“[T]ime has proven the success of Gilbert’s vision: To many members of the public, this court’s main entrance and front steps are not only a means to, but also a metaphor for, access to the court itself.”

Philip Kennicott, the Washington Post architecture critic, was critical in a commentary:

“[T]he closing of this front door, which will now be used only for exiting the building, is not just another front door lost to paranoia. It is the loss of what may be the nation’s most important portal.”

A New York Times editorial said the entrance closing “would feel better if the court were opening its proceedings to the wider public by allowing video and audio coverage of oral arguments.”

Visitors will be able to exit through the central doors and down 44 steps to an outdoor plaza, and the street.

Full post as published by The Gavel on May 04, 2010 (boomark / email).