Several of the justices, for example, do not permit audio or video broadcasts of their speeches, lectures or public appearances. Last year, Justice Antonin Scalia spoke at the University of Wyoming at an event where photo identification was required and no cell phones or cameras were permitted at the venue. It is ironic, indeed, that an institution whose justices profess to be so concerned about being quoted out of context -- the primary reason the justices often give for their refusal to allow cameras in their courtroom -- make it more difficult for journalists to quote them in context by often precluding an official "record" of what was said.

All of this is a preface, background really, to a story about Justice Anthony Kennedy. Last Monday, before an audience at the Chautauqua Institution at the very western tip of the state of New York, Justice Kennedy, the single most important justice on our deeply divided high court, delivered an insightful speech about his perceptions of freedom and democracy. I did not know in advance about his appearance, although it was publicized, and I did not attend and cover the event, even though it was open to the media. In this I was not alone -- there was barely any coverage of the justice's remarks.



What little I saw reported about what Justice Kennedy said that night -- in a piece written by an earnest college student -- raised as many questions as it answered but intrigued me enough to make me want to know more. So I contacted the good folks at the Institution to see whether anyone had recorded or transcribed the speech. "Unfortunately, audio or video recordings of any kind were not allowed during Justice Kennedy's lecture," I was told, before I was referred to the Supreme Court.



I then queried Court staff: There's surely more to what the justice said than appears in this story, I said. The justice seems to be contradicting himself and that doesn't make sense to me so can't the Court find me a copy of his speech so I can ensure that I am citing him in full and in context? There was some back-and-forth and then the Court did something it deserves a great deal of credit for. It gave me an opportunity to hear an audio recording of Justice Kennedy's speech -- made for archival purposes by the Institution-- after I promised I would not broadcast it.

Last night, I listened to the speech and to the question-and-answer session that followed it. I wish you could hear it for yourself. Not because Justice Kennedy said anything shocking but because he was so earnest and eloquent in sharing his views about the history of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. In an age where judges often lament the public's dwindling knowledge about basic civics, Justice Kennedy lectured to his audience like a friendly college professor. There can be no doubt that the crowd learned from him-- and that you would have, too.