“Enter the Supreme Court lottery for a chance to observe live arguments and sessions without waiting in line”

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has introduced a new online lottery system for individuals interested in observing court proceedings. This system allows people to bypass waiting in line to secure a seat in the courtroom.

Commencing with cases scheduled for late February, available seats for both argument sessions and non-argument sessions, where decisions on previously argued cases may be announced, will be allocated through this lottery.

While the court did not specify the exact number of seats accessible via the lottery, it is known that the courtroom can accommodate approximately 400 individuals, with only a limited number of seats reserved for public attendees on some occasions.

For high-profile cases, the line can start days before the arguments. The court said some seating will remain for people who wait in line.

The public can request up to four seats and will be notified by email about three weeks before the session. Applications for future sessions will open shortly after the next monthly arguments calendar is released.

Can’t make it to the nation’s capital? The court makes available live audio of all its arguments.

The justices had never agreed to have their arguments streamed live, until the coronavirus pandemic closed the courthouse in March 2020 and forced the justices to take part in arguments remotely, via telephone.

The court retained the livestream even after the justices returned to in-person arguments the following year and welcomed the public back in 2022.