The photo was published on June 7, 1937, in Time magazine.

The second illegal photo was taken in 1937 by a young woman who managed to hide the camera. The photo was published in Time magazine on June 7, 1937. This other known photo of the Supreme Court in session. Among others, in this photo are Justices Louis Brandeis (creator of the constitutional right to privacy) and Harlan Stone (Future Chief Justice and created the ‘rational basis test’). He decided to sneak a camera into the Supreme Court by faking that he had a broken arm so that he could hide his camera inside his sling.Īs we can see, Salomon was able to snap a nice shot, which was later published in Fortune magazine and captioned as the first photo ever made showing the Supreme Court in session.Ĭhief Justice Charles Evans Hughes is the one in the middle with the big bushy mustache. The first photo was taken in 1932 by a German photographer named Erich Salomon. Although the Court has never allowed cameras in its courtroom, it does allow audio recordings of oral arguments and opinions. The Supreme Court of the United States does not allow cameras in the courtroom when the court is in session, a policy which is the subject of much debate. There are only two known photos in existence taken inside the US Supreme Court while in session. Erich Salomon faked a broken arm so he could hide a camera in his cast. Illegal picture taken inside the US Supreme Court in 1932.

Supreme court picture