On the Docket
A nonprofit civic education project that brings the Supreme Court’s own recordings to the public as narrated video, so anyone can watch the justices announce opinions and hear argument.
Visit onthedocket.orgAbout the project
Cameras are not allowed in the Supreme Court, and the Court does not post recordings of opinion announcements, so most people never see or hear the moment a decision is delivered. On the Docket closes that gap. It takes the justices’ actual audio from the National Archives, leaves it unaltered, and pairs it with visuals generated from original photographs of the justices, animated to match what is being said.
The result is a way to experience the Court’s work as it happened, built for students, teachers, and anyone curious about how the Court operates. The generated visuals are clearly labeled, and the audio is always the real recording.
What you can watch
The site features opinion announcements from recent terms, including Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, Trump v. United States, and United States v. Skrmetti, often with the dissents and concurrences read from the bench. It has also begun presenting oral arguments, starting with cases heard in April 2026.
How it connects to the oral argument notes
The oral argument notes on this site show what the justices themselves were writing down from the bench. On the Docket comes at the same institution from the other side, letting the public hear the arguments and announcements those notes respond to. Both grow out of Professor Johnson’s research on oral argument and judicial decision-making.
On the Docket is an independent project of the On the Docket Foundation. Visit onthedocket.org for the full collection.