The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals often hears cases of interest and consequence, yet it is the only federal appeals court in the nation that does not publish its hearing calendar online.
This means the only way members of the public can find out when and where a particular case is being heard is to visit the office of the court’s clerk in downtown Atlanta to get a copy of the calendar or to telephone the office and ask -- provided they know the names of the cases that are going to be argued.
“It’s a public federal agency, and it should be transparent to the extent it can be,” said Georgia State University law professor Anne Emanuel, who once clerked at the court. “It’s information that’s valuable to people who are interested in the court.”
The U.S. circuit courts of appeals are one rung below the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Atlanta court has jurisdiction over federal appeals from Georgia, Alabama and Florida. It schedules arguments in Atlanta and cities within its jurisdiction, such as Jacksonville, Miami and Montgomery.
John Ley, the 11th Circuit’s clerk, said the primary reason the court does not publish its calendars online is because there have been so few requests for them. “I don’t think we’ve ever had much interest in it,” he said. “But it is something we could consider and take a look at. ... It’s something for the court to decide.”
He noted the court posts on its website the few cases heard during the year by the entire court, which is alloted 12 judges. But this link only discloses the week during which those cases will be argued. The 11th Circuit also publishes its opinions on its website (www.ca11.uscourts.gov) as soon as they are released.
Chief Judge Joel Dubina was unavailable for comment Wednesday, his office said.
This year, the court has heard a number of high-profile appeals, such as whether the metro area is entitled to use Lake Lanier to meet its water needs and whether people can bring guns into churches. In the coming months, the court will hear a challenge to Georgia’s immigration law.
Either a panel of three judges or the entire court hears arguments from lawyers from each side of a case.
The 11th Circuit also is one of only two federal appeals courts in the country (the 10th Circuit in Denver being the other) that has not regularly made audio recordings of its arguments available to the public. But that may be about to change.
Eight appeals courts put recordings of their arguments on their websites free of charge. Three others -- those in Cincinnati, New York and Washington -- sell discs of recorded oral arguments for up to $30 each. The U.S. Supreme Court posts recordings of its arguments on its website free of charge.
The 11th Circuit’s judges recently voted to sell CDs of its oral arguments, Ley said.
On June 8, after a three-judge panel heard arguments over the constitutionality of the federal health care law, the court sold -- for $26 -- a limited number of CD recordings.
Georgia’s two state appellate courts -- the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals -- publish calendars of their oral arguments on their websites so the public can see what cases are be argued before those courts.
Robert Schapiro, interim dean of Emory University’s law school, said the 11th Circuit should make it easier for the public to know what it’s doing. He noted the U.S. Supreme Court has made great strides in granting greater public access to its docket and arguments.
“All of this has had the salutary effect of increasing the public’s knowledge about the court and its respect for the judicial process,” Schapiro said. “More information creates greater confidence in the judicial system.”
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