Someone on the Supreme Court needs to clean up their act. A live-streamed Supreme Court hearing on Wednesday did not go smoothly, as the sound of a toilet being flushed was clearly audible while Justice Elena Kagan was questioning attorney Roman Martinez.
LISTEN: Toilet flush during U.S. Supreme Court oral argument (h/t @nicninh) pic.twitter.com/He3QGMzvJI
— Jeremy Art (@cspanJeremy) May 6, 2020
Prior to arguments being made during this age of teleconference hearings, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. typically warns everyone to turn off their cellphones.
After the flush muddied the waters of Wednesday’s Supreme Court session, he will presumably have to amend that warning to include a reminder to hit the mute button before arguments resume in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants.
Martinez told Reuters that the sound did not come from his end of the conversation. Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg did not respond to a request seeking comment, according to the news organization. The Supreme Court’s official transcript of the hearing does not include the flush, and it has also been wiped from the official audio of the hearing, available on the court’s website. But it happened.
Uh, that sure sounded like a toilet flush in the background of the Supreme Court oral argument
— Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley) May 6, 2020
Wednesday marked the third day that justices heard arguments by teleconference instead of in-person due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The justices will use the new format three days next week as well.
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