WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One U.S. Supreme
Court justice referred to Netflix as “Netflick.” Another seemed not to
know that HBO is a cable channel. A third appeared to think most
software coding could be tossed off in a mere weekend.
These and other apparent gaffes by the justices during oral
arguments have became a source of bemused derision, as tech
aficionados, legal experts and others have taken to social media,
blogs, YouTube and other outlets to proclaim the justices
black-robed techno-fogeys.
“Everyone who’s anyone inside that courtroom is most likely an
incompetent Luddite,” Sarah Jeong, a 25-year-old Harvard Law School
student, wrote on her personal blog following a recent Supreme Court
argument dealing with a copyright dispute over TV online startup
Aereo.
When it comes to cutting-edge technology, Jeong told Reuters: "Mom
and Dad are the Supreme Court."
Parker Higgins, a 26-year-old digital rights advocate who works at
the Electronic Frontier Foundation, spliced together audio of the
Aereo argument for comic effect and posted it on a sound cloud and
at YouTube.
About a minute long, it's a compilation of the justices' references
to "the cloud," highlighting some misuse of terminology and
uncertainty about how the technology works.
"Sometimes it's just amusing and sometimes it's really troubling,"
Higgins said. "The justices are just unfamiliar with how the
industry works. (They) don't understand how software comes
together."
The court, via spokeswoman Kathy Arberg, declined comment on the
recent criticism.
SLOW TO CHANGE
The sense that the Washington, D.C.-based court is slow to embrace
technology is heightened by its having persistently resisted calls
to allow cameras or personal recording devices into its hallowed
halls. Visitors, including reporters, are allowed to take only a pen
and pad into the grand marble courtroom. The court has a simple
website and no presence on social media.
During oral arguments, the justices can be seen thumbing through
hard copies of court papers, in contrast to some lower courts where
judges tap away on laptop computers.
In some ways the debate reflects the well-known generational divide
over technology. Young people tend to be the early adopters. The
average age of the Supreme Court's nine justices is just over 68.
At 54, Justice Elena Kagan is the youngest on the court. Four of her
colleagues are over 70 and several have served on the court since
cellphones were the size of bricks.
Some critics say the Supreme Court’s apparent lack of awareness
about the technology that increasingly permeates the lives of
everyday Americans could have real consequences as the court
grapples with such issues this term as maintaining privacy in the
digital age, when software is eligible for patent protection, and
the future of the TV industry.
To be sure, some long-time court observers are not too concerned
that the justices occasionally seem clueless about the latest
computer hardware or software. What matters, they say, is what's
ultimately in their rulings, not the bantering and parrying of oral
arguments, when justices fire questions at the lawyers who appear
before them.
No one attending a court session should expect "the equivalent of a
TED Talk on technology and the law," said Andy Pincus, a veteran
Supreme Court litigator, referring to the popular lecture series.
Court experts said justices take tech issues seriously, even if they
make the occasional slip during oral arguments. The justices read
“friend of the court” briefs from experts in the field, and some had
experience in the realm of science and technology before joining the
bench. Justice Stephen Breyer worked on regulations as a U.S. Senate
staffer and wrote widely on issues related to technology and the
law.
If all else fails, they can turn to their twentysomething law
clerks.
JUDICIAL RANKINGS
In late April, Mashable.com ranked the justices on their perceived
knowledge of technology, based on comments they made during oral
arguments in the Aereo case. The question before the court in the
case is whether Aereo, which charges users a low monthly fee to
stream live broadcasts of TV channels, violates copyright law.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor was ranked number one, because she appeared
to be familiar with such products as Roku Inc's streaming video
device and services that store files on the Internet, such as Apple
Inc's iCloud - although she was also the justice responsible for the
"Netflick" comment.
Ranked last, Justice Antonin Scalia was faulted for the HBO remark.
Justice Breyer was somewhere in the middle. He was seen as being out
of touch for making several references to "phonograph records."
FROM PATENTS TO PHONES
Other tech cases have prompted similar ribbing.
Some techies chided Justice Anthony Kennedy for suggesting in a
software patents case in March that code to implement an idea could
be done by "any computer group of people sitting around a coffee
shop" over a weekend.
In another closely watched case, over whether police should be able
to search smartphones without warrants, Chief Justice John Roberts
alarmed privacy advocates when he sharply questioned a lawyer about
her assumption that many people carry more than one cellphone.
"What is your authority for the statement that many people have
multiple cellphones on their person?" he asked Judith Mizner, a
public defender arguing on behalf of a criminal defendant.
"That was definitely an odd moment," said Orin Kerr, a professor at
George Washington Law School.
It remains to be seen what, if anything, the justices' comments this
term mean for the intersection of law and technology, say Kerr and
others. The key tech cases have yet to be decided, and it's unlikely
the stray remarks will be echoed in the justices' written opinions,
due out by the end of June.
(Additional reporting by Joan Biskupic; Editing by Eric Effron,
Howard Goller, Amy Stevens and Ken Wills)
These and other apparent gaffes by the justices during oral
arguments have became a source of bemused derision, as tech
aficionados, legal experts and others have taken to social media,
blogs, YouTube and other outlets to proclaim the justices
black-robed techno-fogeys.
