Mrsbenalayat's MyC-SPAN

Cindy McCain and Vicki Kennedy talked about their late husbands' (Senators John McCain and Ted Kennedy) careers and legacies, in a conversation about public service at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. Former Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey (R) moderated the discussion.

In the first of C-SPAN and Roll Call magazine’s five-day earmark report, Tory Newmyer talked about the history of lobbying Congress for earmarks in appropriations bills. He talked about how the number and influence of lobbyists has grown over the last 30 years, the role that lobbyists play in securing earmarks, and the relationship between lobbyists and congressman, especially those on the House and Senate appropriations committees. He responded to telephone calls and electronic mail.

Rich Gold, participating by phone, talked about the role that
lobbyists play in the earmark appropriations process.

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) asked senators to work together again in a spirit of bipartisanship and civility. He recalled how senators and families used to be genuine friends.

A newsreel from October 1962 on the Cuban Missile Crisis was shown.
On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy announced the United States had discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba.
He ordered a naval quarantine of Cuba, preventing more missiles from being delivered to Cuba.

Professor Peter Wallenstein talked about the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Loving v. Virginia on the status of inter-racial marriage. Professor Wallenstein is the author of Freedom to Marry: Loving v. Virginia.

In 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette case that public school students could not be forced to salute the American flag. This decision overturned the 1940 Minersville School District v. Gobitis case. World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses Senior Communications Officer Robert Zick told the story of both cases and talked with the daughter of Lillian Gobitas, one of the students expelled for refusing to salute the flag for religious reasons. This program was part of a day-long event hosted by the Robert H. Jackson Center to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette U.S. Supreme Court case.

Law professors Jeffrey Rosen and Jamil Jaffer talked about the 1967 Supreme Court case Katz v. United States, which concerned Charles Katz, a bookie recorded by the FBI transmitting illegal bets from a telephone booth. The Supreme Court’s decision in the case expanded Americans' right to privacy under the Fourth Amendment. The guests also responded to viewer phone calls and social media comments. Clips played during the program included Justice Samuel Alito speaking about Katz in his Supreme Court confirmation hearing; portions of oral argument in the case; an interview with Mr. Katz’s attorney, Harvey Schneider, in which he described the evolution of his thinking about his oral argument for the case and reaction to the Court’s decision; and C-SPAN producer Nate Hurst explaining about his efforts to find out more about Charles Katz.

Ralph Mecham, Director Administrative Office, United States Courts, spoke about the structure of the U.S. District Court system. Following that brief interview, Mr. Brieant spoke about the Southern District of New York. He discussed how it operates and what its role is in the federal judicial system. He mentioned that understaffing was prevalent in his district, as well as the increasing caseload for all the Federal courts.

From the Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke about the structure of the federal judiciary system. She also compared it with other types of systems, especially the civil law, unified systems of Western Europe.

The morning session of the Federal Courts Study Committee meeting focused on the problems with the federal court system and ways to get around those problems. Note: There are technical issues and content is missing at 14 minutes in.