WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday on the Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy toward gays, then immediately release audiotapes of the proceeding.
The court has made same-day releases of audiotapes in some major cases since December 2000, when justices heard Florida ballot recount appeals that determined the outcome of the presidential election. On Wednesday, the same-day release of audiotapes for a case involving abortion rights marked the first time Chief Justice John Roberts allowed the practice.
Television cameras are barred from the court, and reporters are not allowed to use tape recorders. But arguments are taped by the court and usually released at the end of the term.
The case to be argued Tuesday, deciding the constitutionality of the Solomon Amendment, deals with whether federal funds can be withheld from colleges that close their campuses to military recruiters in a protest of the current military policy toward gays.
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