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Justices once wore Easter egg robes
Marshall's black robes
Marshall wanted black robes instead. They were a sign of puritanical restraint with no flash, and they carried a message to every justice who put one on: you are a judge here, and that's it.
Holding feelings in
The custom stuck, and the justices still take it seriously. Justice Sotomayor has talked about going back to chambers to cry after a loss. Justice Kagan has described punching the wall instead. Both appear to hold themselves to a standard where nobody outside sees that.
Congress as the contrast
Congress shows what the opposite looks like. Transparency won out there over proper functioning and process, and the same level of it at the court would end the court. Watching a justice talk about their feelings in an unguarded moment over how a case turned out gives a glimpse of exactly that kind of transparency.
How did Marshall make the court speak as one?
Marshall became chief justice in 1801 and ended the habit of each justice delivering a separate opinion, known as seriatim opinions. Under him the court began issuing a single opinion of the court, usually written by one justice on behalf of the majority. Marbury v. Madison in 1803 was delivered that way, and it established the court's power to strike down laws that conflict with the Constitution. Marshall served as chief justice for 34 years, the longest tenure in the court's history.
Why did Congress open its chambers to cameras?
C-SPAN began televising House floor proceedings in March 1979, and Senate coverage followed in June 1986. Supporters argued that voters should be able to watch lawmakers at work instead of relying on reports about them. The Supreme Court has long kept cameras out of its courtroom and releases audio of arguments instead. During the pandemic in 2020 the court began streaming live audio of arguments for the first time.
Where do judges' black robes come from?
English judges wore robes from the medieval period, when many early judges were trained clergy and robe styles borrowed from clerical and academic dress. American courts inherited the habit, and no federal statute prescribes what a federal judge must wear. Chief Justice William Rehnquist added four gold stripes to each sleeve of his robe in the 1990s, reportedly inspired by a costume in a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.
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