Supreme Court to release same-day audio of marriage arguments

The Supreme Court will release audio recordings on the same day it hears oral arguments over same-sex marriage — a rare step reserved for especially high-profile cases.

The court will hear oral arguments next Tuesday in a challenge to California's ban on same-sex marriage, and the next day will hear a challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

The court announced Tuesday afternoon that audio of both arguments will be released the same day.

It will be the first time the court has released same-day audio since the three-day arguments last year over President Obama's healthcare law. The court generally releases audio recordings at the end of the week, except for its highest-profile cases.

Same-day audio is also the closest the public can get to a real-time feel for oral arguments. The court has never allowed television cameras to film its arguments, and the current justices have shown no signs of reversing that policy any time soon.

Many observers believe the court is likely to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage in the eyes of the federal government as a union between one man and one woman. 

Where the justices will fall on the broader question of same-sex marriage is harder to predict.

The California case presents an opportunity to declare that there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage in every state, if the justices want to go that far. But they also have several narrower options that would leave the issue up to the states.

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