-- Public can now listen to appellate arguments via the Internet -- 
 
WASHINGTON, DC – For the first time ever, arguments before the DC Court of Appeals will be available on-line, via web-streaming, beginning tomorrow.  This relatively new technology will allow the public real-time audio access to oral arguments without going to the courthouse.  Various levels of this technology have been instituted in twentyone other states, including Alaska, California, Florida, New York and Texas. 
 
“One of the DC Courts’ strategic goals is to be ‘Open to All’.”  By ‘web-streaming’ our oral arguments, we enable anyone with access to the Internet and Windows media player to listen in on what is happening in the courtroom,” said Chief Judge Eric T. Washington.  “While the general perception is that appellate arguments are technical and legalistic, we hope people will ‘tune in’ to hear that they also involve real people with very real problems which the Court attempts to decide by fairly and equitably applying the laws of the District of Columbia and the US Constitution.”  
 
As the court of last resort for the District of Columbia, the Court of Appeals is authorized to review all final orders and judgments, as well as specified interlocutory orders, of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  The Court of Appeals is also vested with jurisdiction to review final decisions of the District of Columbia Office of Administrative Hearings, decisions of boards and commissions of the District of Columbia government, as well as to answer questions of law certified by the Supreme Court of the United States, a Court of Appeals of the United States, or the highest appellate court of any state.  
 
While all oral arguments will be available on-line in real time, there is a limit on the number of ‘simultaneous users.’  Depending on demand, the Court may expand the number of people allowed to access the arguments. 

To hear oral arguments: www.dcappeals.gov and see the link text in red. 
 

To see a schedule of upcoming cases, go to:  http://www.dcappeals.gov/dccourts/appeals/calendar/index.jsp 

For more information please download the PDF.