US and Canadian Supreme Court Transcripts

The beSpacific blog pointed yesterday to a press release from the United States Supreme Court that explains that our neighbour's highest court "will make the transcripts of oral arguments available free to the public on its Web site (...) on the same day an argument is heard by the Court." This is to start in the October 2006 Term.

Currently, transcripts are posted to the Court website some two weeks after arguments are heard. People wanting access to transcripts more quickly must purchase them from a commercial service.

Here at the Supreme Court of Canada, courtroom proceedings are televised by the Canadian Parliamentary Affairs Channel (CPAC). CPAC posts its schedule at its site: http://www.cpac.ca. To obtain a copy of a written transcript, people may call the Court Registry at (613) 996-8666. To obtain a copy of a video for personal use, call International Duplication Services Inc. at (613) 761-7777. There are costs involved.