Are Supreme Court justices really technologically ignorant?

The Supreme Court of the United States consists of individuals who set legal precedents for the country. These decision affect the long-term viability of the country. It is their responsibility to understand the basics of the world so they can make sound and informed judgments. If they can’t do this, they have no reason to be sitting on the bench.

Court experts said justices take tech issues seriously, even if they make the occasional slip during oral arguments. The justices read “friend of the court” briefs from experts in the field, and some had experience in the realm of science and technology before joining the bench. Justice Stephen Breyer worked on regulations as a U.S. Senate staffer and wrote widely on issues related to technology and the law.

Technology has changed immensely since Breyer came to the court. A better argument would have been how he has kept up on current technology and trends and understands the cases at hand.

While justices to also turn to their clerks, who write many of the briefs, they should be doing the research themselves. After all, they don’t take on many cases per year and have the time to do the research. How much do they really understand?

One U.S. Supreme Court justice referred to Netflix as “Netflick.” Another seemed not to know that HBO is a cable channel. A third appeared to think most software coding could be tossed off in a mere weekend.

Sotomayor made the Netflix gaffe. She misspoke. It doesn’t mean she’s an idiot.

Kennedy asked the questions about software coding. Read the Computer Worldarticle and then claim you understand software patents. If you actually go andread the question in context, it is pertinent to the situation at hand and it was an intelligent question.

HBO has been around since the 1970s. There is no excuse for anyone to not know it’s a TV channel. This is especially egregious for Scalia who said he liked watching the Sopranos. Upon further investigation, it’s unclear whether Scalia knows exactly what HBO is.

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