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Does anyone know if the public can watch the Court read its opinions from the bench when they are released? If so, any advice on how early to show up? Thanks!

Yes. You can attend any time court is in session (though you have to stay for the whole session now that they're no longer hearing oral arguments. Other times of year there is a 3-minute line). How far in advance you would need to arrive will depend on what opinions are anticipated for the day. For the end of June, you're likely looking at a very long wait, possibly overnight, though I don't know for certain. Overnight waits are typical for high-profile case oral arguments.

BVest wrote:Yes. You can attend any time court is in session (though you have to stay for the whole session now that they're no longer hearing oral arguments. Other times of year there is a 3-minute line). How far in advance you would need to arrive will depend on what opinions are anticipated for the day. For the end of June, you're likely looking at a very long wait, possibly overnight, though I don't know for certain. Overnight waits are typical for high-profile case oral arguments.

Solid. Thanks for the info.

Showed up around 6:30 AM for the second to last day the Court released opinions for the Oct. '11 term (so June 2012). Got in, even though it was super busy since people thought there was a chance of the healthcare decision coming down that day. So overnight shouldn't be necessary unless (maybe) for the last opinion announcement of the term

Just FYI: bring a few quarters to pay for a locker inside the Court that you'll have to stash your wallet, bags, etc. in

http://www.oyez.org

This is a great alternative.
Search and hear audio recordings of cases and more.
Very interesting, and most are 30-40 min.

Thanks! I'm an oyez.org fan but wanted the real deal. I lucked out in seeing Attorney General Lynch, SG Don Verrilli, and deputy SGs Ed Kneedler and Ian Gershengorn all there as well. Highly suggest it to anyone in the area!