The Supreme Court's decision to let Americans hear Friday's historic Florida election argument on the same day is a huge first for a court so tradition-bound it still hands out quill pens as souvenirs to lawyers who appear before them.
The argument won't be broadcast live: The court is releasing its tape recording shortly after the argument ends. As always, there will be no television or still cameras.
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But it's another sign that the nation's highest court is edging into the electronic age. The justices opened their own Internet site last spring, and this week's online posting of briefs in the George W. Bush-Al Gore election war was another first for the court.