If you're a Supreme Court geek, you're going to be really excited by this news: Starting this fall, the Supreme Court will be posting transcripts of oral arguments on the same day as the argument. Okay, so it's far from same-day video, and it's not quite same-day audio (my own preferred approach), but it's still going to be very helpful for those interested in a case who can't make it to DC for the argument and want to know the details of what happened.

  Here is the text of the Court's announcement:

Beginning with the October 2006 Term, the Court will make the transcripts of oral arguments available free to the public on its Web site, www.supremecourtus.gov, on the same day an argument is heard by the Court.

In the past, the transcripts had been posted on the Web site approximately two weeks after the close of an argument session. Previously, transcripts could be obtained sooner than they were posted on the Court's Web site by making arrangements in advance and purchasing them from the Court's contract reporting service.

In the past, oral arguments had been transcribed off-site from audio recordings. The Court's current contract reporting service, Alderson Reporting Company, will now utilize the services of a court reporter in the Courtroom and high-speed technology to transcribe the oral arguments more quickly.

Transcripts can be located by clicking on the "Oral Arguments" prompt on the home page of the Court's Web site and selecting "Argument Transcripts."

Transcripts will be listed by case name and the date of oral argument. Transcripts are permanently archived beginning with the 2000 Term on the Court's Web site. Transcripts prior to the 2000 Term are maintained in the Court's Library.

Excellent news. Thanks to Howard and SCOTUSBlog for the link.