Hirono, Johnson Introduce Legislation to Increase Judiciary Transparency

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a senior member on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and U.S. Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee over Federal Courts, introduced the Open Meetings Act, legislation to require Judicial Conference meetings to be more open and accessible to the American people. The Judicial Conference is the policymaking and administrative governing body for the federal court system. By granting public access to these meetings by default, this bill will increase transparency in the Judiciary.

"The federal judiciary is a key pillar of our constitutional system of government," said Senator Hirono. "Americans need to have confidence that the judiciary is beholden only to the law and not to any ideological agendas or special interests. By requiring meetings of the judiciary's policymaking and administrative arm to be open to the public by default, this commonsense bill will help increase transparency and support that confidence."

Currently, the policies that govern much of the administration of the federal judicial system are discussed and implemented during semiannual Judicial Conference meetings-all behind closed doors. While the Conference publishes an official report and press release summarizing the meeting activities after the meetings have concluded, there is no advance notice of the topics to be discussed, and no transcripts are made available.

The Open Meetings Act would make Judicial Conference meetings accessible to the public through livestreamed audio recordings and published meeting agendas. The Judicial Conference would still be permitted to close certain sensitive portions of its meetings as long as it provided an explanation for doing so. By lifting the curtain that stands between the Judicial Conference and the American people, this legislation would help ensure that the governance of the federal Judiciary remains apolitical and transparent to the public.

Led by Representative Hank Johnson, companion legislation was co-sponsored in the U.S. House of Representatives by Steve Cohen (D-TN), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), and Shri Thanedar (D-MI).

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