Attending Arguments

• The public has been welcomed back into the courtroom since October 2022. This is a remarkable experience and I hope you will attend in person, but the Court will continue to offer an audio feed as well. For those options, see "online access".
  
• The Court will continue using a lottery system for public seating, (which started in the October 2024 term and is still called a "pilot" as of just before the October 2025 term opens). They still take a handful of people who line up outside without an advance ticket, but it seems to be a vanishingly small number.
  • For a seat through the lottery, submit your name (and up to 3 others) at least 4 weeks before the argument (and be sure to check email to confirm the entry within 4 hours). Winners of the lottery are contacted by email 3 weeks before the argument and have 24 hours to claim it.
  • You can enter shortly after the calendar for that block of arguments is released, but it’s a random drawing and there does not appear to be any value to registering early (as long as you make the 4-weeks-before cut-off).
  • You can enter for a group but the FAQs warn that you cannot enter more than once either individually or as part of a group, that names must match a photo ID, and that “[i]f duplicate entries are submitted for the same argument, the Court may exclude all entries from those individual(s) from the lottery.” 

Attending oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court is a singular experience, promising an opportunity to witness some of the finest advocacy and informed public debate on critical social issues. I strongly encourage my students to take advantage of this opportunity while living in Washington. However, some Supreme Court cases will involve rather arcane legal issues, so attending those arguments will be a less desirable experience for the observer who is not well versed in that area of law and the specific facts of the case. Scotusblog does an excellent job of surveying all upcoming cases, so on the front page, I limit myself to select cases that I particularly want to recommend to my current and former students

The Supreme Court returns from summer recess on the first Monday in October each year, and generally sits until early summer. They do not hear arguments every day, but all oral arguments are open to the public.

The US Supreme Court is located at 1 First Street, NE, which is directly opposite the Capitol Building. It is a short walk from the Capitol South Metro stop on the orange and blue lines.

On days when the Court is hearing oral arguments, there typically are two cases with a one-hour time slot for each, at 10:00 and 11:00. On rare occasions, there will be a third argument, which starts after the lunch break. Equally rarely, a scheduling issue may result in only one case being heard that day.

Seating is quite limited and the online system is by far your best bet.

Before the lottery was piloted in 2024, the only way for the general public to see the case (without a special arrangement) was to line up outside the Court for many hours and often overnight. Now, it seems the vast majority of public seats are filled through the online lottery (see the bullet-point above).

Note that online tickets are for one argument only, so you can't stay for the other argument happening on the same day. But if you manage to get in off the public line for the day's first case and that's the one that most interests you, I suggest that you sit through the next one anyway (unless it's really arcane) — you waited in line for hours, and might as well get the experience of hearing a second case while you are there.

I'm not sure how they decide how many people without a ticket get in from the outside line, but my guess is that it is only if they wind up with more seats than they expected to be available. (There are always some groups and VIPs, and a handful of such people might decide not to attend day-of or otherwise too late for the Court to hand out extra tickets through the online system.)

The above is somewhat anecdotal/speculative and I can't be certain. Large numbers of people were still lining up without tickets as of last year. But for example, I know one person who got in line at 3am for the Trump v. CASA arguments and did not make it in, and was not sure if anyone from the public line got in that day.

There is a camaraderie that forms in the line, and for major cases there will be demonstrations and press conferences in front of the Court. So I don't want to completely waive you off this experience! But where 30-50 people used to get in from that line, it's now going to be a handful at most. If you try the line, then see below.

The above is for argument days; for info on lines for end-of-term decision days, see this post. 

Other info

A few people have asked for more on the “nuts and bolts” of attending oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court. What follows may be overboard, but useful for those of you who want to know all the details in advance.

Dress and items

You should dress nicely; a suit or formal dress is unnecessary, but sweats are out of bounds too. If you're arriving without a ticket, remember that you will be standing in the elements for hours.

Feel free to bring reading materials and/or a small device for the wait, but know that most anything you bring cannot come into the courtroom. Once let in, the Supreme Court Police will direct you to one of the entrances. You will go through one set of metal detectors (to screen for weapons) and then be directed to the check room and the lockers. Both the check room and lockers are now free (you used to need a quarter for the lockers, but no longer). Get rid of everything – as you would expect, no electronic devices are allowed, but also no reading materials or large coats. You will then get in another line for a second metal detector, to screen for phones and other things that you should have checked between the screenings. Finally, they will direct you to the Courtroom and the Marshals will point you to your seat.

You should follow the links I have provided or on scotusblog so you can read a news account or legal blog write-up, and perhaps some key documents filed in the case. You of course will not have time to read all the briefs, but at least glance at some of these resources to get a feel for the case and the types of arguments that are being made by each side. This will help you to understand the issues and get as much as possible out of attending the arguments. You should also take a look at this guide.

In the courtroom

At 10:00, you will hear a buzzer and gavel. Stand up. As the Justices enter, the clerk will announce that the Court is in session (“Oyez, oyez, oyez!” – latin for, basically, listen up!). If the Court has resolved any cases it heard earlier in the term, then the author of the majority opinion will announce the decision and briefly summarize the opinion. Also, there will be some new members of the Supreme Court bar. The Chief Justice will call upon their “sponsor,” who will formally ask the Court to admit the new member. As soon as this is completed, the clerk will call the first case.

Each side gets 30 minutes initially, followed by a final set of questions from each Justice in order of seniority. The first person to argue (the “petitioner” – the one who lost in the court below and therefore brought the matter to this Court) usually will reserve a few minutes from the initial 30 for rebuttal. The addition of a round of questioning after the 30 minutes is a covid-era invention and can take some time, and the Court has been very lenient about time limits on the initial argument, too. It used to be a very strict 1-hour per case, but now the arguments often take twice as long.

When the time is up, the Chief Justice will announce that "the case is submitted" and the clerk will call the next case. There is usually a minute of shuffling as a few people leave after the first case, but it is very limited and brief.

Of course, you must remain quiet throughout the arguments.  Some of the Justices like to make an occasional joke, but the laughter is quick and subdued. (@LOLSCOTUS@law.builders is a fun follow!) The room itself is a massive echo chamber, so even though the Justices use microphones, the audience needs silence. I also encourage you to look at this guide, which includes a seating chart (the Justices do not sit behind name plaques).

Joining the line

Check your ticket for instructions if you got a ticket through the lottery.
If you’re choosing to attempt to get in without a ticket (but see above!), then:

You will see people waiting on the sidewalk adjacent to the plaza steps, which is the line you should join. The line used to form on the plaza itself, but the pattern recently has been to keep that area fenced off until it’s time to enter. But look, in case this changes back. (It’s also possible that there will already be a shorter line of people in suits, who are members of the Supreme Court bar. They probably won’t get there until later, but just check that you’re in the public line if there’s any question. You’ll also see Court employees and people with business before the Court entering the building throughout the morning.)

The Supreme Court building opens around 7:30 for access to the cafeteria and restrooms. The police will direct you to one of the side entrances. These entrances are used by Court employees and members of the Supreme Court bar, so expect a small line and be ready to pass through a metal detector. Options for food and restrooms prior to 7:30 are limited and further away. Union Station is a few blocks further up First Street. And there are also cafés in the Capitol Hill neighborhood; try along Pennsylvania Ave away from the Capitol, but you might have to go a few blocks.

If you're trying to get in without tickets, then at some point the Supreme Court Police will hand out numbered cards, which will allow you to step away for a restroom or coffee break and return without either loosing your place or looking like you're trying to cut. Don't step away for too long, since you'll need to be there when the line is moved inside -- and the timing of that can vary (although usually will be after 7:30, when the building opens). When the cards get handed out also varies a bit.

Just taking in the scene!

Major cases always draw demonstrators to the sidewalk in front of the Court, and arguing counsel usually speaks at a press conference and/or rally after the arguments conclude (close to noon for the first argument and closer to 2:00 for the second argument, assuming both cases run well past the official hour allotted). So it’s worth going to the Court just to take in the atmosphere outside the arguments, even if you can’t make it inside.

I trust this is everything you could want to know about attending oral arguments at the Supreme Court, but do not hesitate to ask if you have other questions. It really is an exciting and fascinating experience, and I look forward to hearing your reactions.