In a break from tradition prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments by teleconference for the first time on Monday rather than in-person.
The court’s nine justices are set to participate in arguments in 10 cases over the next two weeks, using a dial-in format to combat the spread of the pathogen.
The first case began session at 10am ET, which involved a trademark dispute featuring the popular hotel reservation website Booking.com.
In another first, the court provided a live audio feed, making these the first arguments that the public can listen into in real time.
Rather than the wide-open questioning exhibited during typical cases in the justices’ ornate courtroom, the court has tweaked the format for the teleconference arguments so justices will take turn asking questions in order of seniority.
In a break from tradition prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments by teleconference for the first time on Monday rather than in-person
Emphasizing the unique nature of the proceedings, Justice Clarence Thomas, the court’s longest-serving justice who almost never asks questions during arguments, embraced the new format and asked opposing attorneys a number of questions – the first time he’s done so in more than a year.
Thomas queried government lawyer Erica Ross about her arguments on behalf of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office seeking to prevent Booking.com from trademarking the site’s name. Thomas later asked a second round of questions of Lisa Blatt, the lawyer presenting Booking.com.
He asked whether trademarking a website name would be similar to trademarking a 1-800 toll-free telephone number. Thomas last asked a question in March 2019, which was three years after his previous one.
Chief Justice John Roberts, meanwhile, was heard running a tight-ship – calling on fellow justices in order of seniority to ask questions, before abruptly cutting then off after four minutes each.
For the most part, the court’s unprecedented foray into the world of video conferencing technology went off largely without a hitch.
A brief delay was brought to the proceedings when Justice Sonia Sotomayor had to be called on twice for her chance to speak, but the urges from Chief Justice Roberts were only met by silence.
‘I’m sorry, Chief,’ Sotomayor eventually said, when she returned to the line.
Justice Stephen Breyer also experienced some static interference later in the session, obfuscating a large section of his question to veteran Supreme Court litigator Lisa Blatt.
Emphasizing the unique nature of the proceedings, Justice Clarence Thomas (above), the court’s longest-serving justice who almost never asks questions during arguments, embraced the new format and asked opposing attorneys a number of questions – the first time he’s done so in more than a year.
For the most part, the court’s unprecedented foray into the world of video conferencing technology went off largely without a hitch (US Justices pictured above in November, 2018)
The case comes as Booking.com, along with the rest of the travel industry, has been slammed by the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused tourism and business travel to evaporate worldwide.
The agency is appealing a lower court decision allowing the trademark because by adding ‘.com’ to the generic word ‘booking’ it became eligible for a trademark. The online reservation service filed several trademark applications in 2011 and 2012.
A Patent and Trademark Office tribunal in 2016 rejected those applications, saying Booking.com referred generically to the common meaning of booking lodging and transportation and cannot be used exclusively through a federal trademark registration.
Under U.S. law, only terms that distinguish a particular product or service from others on the market can be trademarked.
Booking.com appealed, presenting a survey that showed that 74% of consumers identified Booking.com as a brand name. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the company last year because the name as a whole is understood by the public to refer to a business.
Booking.com spokeswoman Kimberly Soward said the company is ‘honored to be a small part of the U.S. Supreme Court history being made this week’ as one of the cases being heard by teleconference.
Chief Justice John Roberts, meanwhile, was heard running a tight-ship – calling on fellow justices in order of seniority to ask questions, before abruptly cutting then off after four minutes each
‘We remain hopeful the Supreme Court will uphold the decisions of the two lower courts, recognizing the changing landscape of the digital world we live in,’ Soward said.
The justices seemed divided on the question. Decisions are expected at the end of June.
The court will hear arguments on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and the same days next week.
The biggest cases to be considered by teleconference are three that focus on the question of whether President Donald Trump can keep his financial records including tax returns secret. Those cases will be argued on May 12.
The Supreme Court building has been closed to the public since March 13 due to the pandemic. The justices have met only via teleconference, and have issued rulings only online.
The coronavirus has proven to be particularly dangerous in elderly people, especially those with underlying medical issues. Three of the nine justices are over age 70: Ginsburg (87), Stephen Breyer (81) and Thomas (71).