Supreme Court begins online lottery for seating, upending DC ritual
People queued up last summer in Washington, D.C., in hopes of catching some of the day’s proceedings at the Supreme Court. (Photo by Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The Washington Post)
Waiting in line to attend hearings at the Supreme Court is a distinctly D.C. ritual. Some people camp out overnight for big cases. Others pay professional line standers to hold their place to witness a historic ruling.
But that will be changing a bit as the court takes another step into the internet age.
The high court has launched an online lottery system for the public to apply for tickets for courtroom seating on days when the justices hear oral arguments and issue decisions.
A court spokeswoman declined to comment on the reason for the new system, but getting seats for the most closely watched cases can be a long—and sometimes chilly—wait with no guaranteed payoff.
The court chamber has about 250 public seats, with additional seats set aside for the parties, members of the Supreme Court bar and special guests of the justices. The number of public seats available varies for each hearing and sometimes can be far less.
In announcing the program, the court said it will continue to provide some first-come, first-serve tickets to members of the public while it tests the online system, which it described as a pilot. People who win tickets online have guaranteed reserved seating for a particular hearing.
As of Thursday, members of the public could enter the lottery to vie for tickets for the February 2025 argument session, when the cases scheduled include a White woman alleging “reverse discrimination” in the workplace, a lawsuit by the Mexican government against U.S. gun manufacturers and a case that will explore a Texas death row inmate’s right to sue the state.
The court may also announce one or more decisions on Feb. 21.
The deadline to apply for tickets is by 5 p.m. four weeks before each hearing. A week later, the court will notify applicants by email whether they have received tickets or been placed on a wait-list. Applicants can apply for up to four tickets per argument.
The tickets are nontransferable, so they can’t be sold. Holders must have a government-issued ID that matches the name on the tickets. Seating for members of the Supreme Court bar will continue to be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis.
