CONTACT:
Tom Sheehan
Court Information Officer
(608) 261-6640
Madison, Wis. (April 15, 2020) – The justices won’t be on the bench. The attorneys won’t be presenting from the podium. And the Supreme Court Hearing Room at the State Capitol won’t be full of people as it usually is during oral arguments.
Yet the Wisconsin Supreme Court will carry on with its work of hearing cases during April, and those oral arguments will be streamed live for public viewing on WisconsinEye and YouTube, via a link to be provided on wicourts.gov.
Due to health concerns created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Court will take advantage of Zoom online videoconferencing to connect with each other and attorneys who are arguing cases from remote locations. Audio and video feeds from those locations will then be combined and streamed live for anyone to view.
“It’s important for the people of Wisconsin to know that the Supreme Court and courts throughout the state remain operating and accessible, even as we face challenges created by this pandemic,” said Chief Justice Patience Drake Roggensack. “Anyone interested in the issues presented by these cases, or in observing how the Court is conducting business at this time should tune in,” she added.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in nine cases during the month, including two on April 20 that address constitutional issues related to a governor’s line-item veto power. The calendar and synopses of all the cases to be heard during April can be found here.
The Court joins a number of courts throughout the country, as well as an increasing number in Wisconsin, using online videoconferencing to help keep cases moving and courts accessible to parties and the public during the pandemic.
A list of Wisconsin circuit courts that have established livestream accounts can be found on the court system’s website, wicourts.gov under the “live stream courts” tab at the top of the page.
