For students
Watch how public power sounds and moves before it becomes a headline.
Court Watch
A civic TV guide for public government in motion
Find official court calendars, Supreme Court audio, congressional hearings, agency sessions, and public meeting doors in one calm place.
How to use it
Start with a live door, then use the official calendar when no stream is active. Access changes quickly, so the official source always wins.
1
Open
2
Notice
3
Discuss
For families
Use official pages to follow courts, hearings, and public meetings without cable-news noise.
For teachers
Turn live civic moments into discussion prompts, quick writes, and classroom kits.
Local Civic Watch
Find public meetings near you
Use location permission or search manually to pull up official local government, school board, statehouse, and court streams. Location is used only for this request.
Search a city, county, ZIP, or school district. You can also use location permission once.
Detected live
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Check now
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Monitored
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Official sources
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Session signal
Checking official doors
Court Watch uses official page text where available. When a source does not expose a reliable live flag, it shows a careful schedule signal and sends you to the official page to confirm.
Today's watch plan
Use one source without getting lost
1
Open the door
Use the official source first. If there is no stream, check the calendar or archive.
2
Name the power
Ask what branch, court, committee, or agency is acting in public.
3
Connect the idea
Pair what you saw with a Learn topic, quick write, or classroom kit.
Fast lenses
Jump to a civic moment
These are starting lenses, not editorial rankings. Court Watch stays close to official public sources and helps students notice the civic structure behind what they see.
Quick picks
Start with these official doors
16 sources showing
Live doorCourts
Supreme Court live oral argument audio
This is where lawyers answer questions from the Justices before the Court decides a constitutional or federal law question.
Live doorCongress
U.S. Senate floor webcast
The floor is where senators debate, vote, and move nominations or bills through the chamber.
Live doorCongress
U.S. House live floor webcast
The House floor shows how bills, amendments, speeches, and votes move through one chamber of Congress.
Live door
Live doors and today pages
CourtsLive doorSupreme Courtoral argumentconstitutional law
Supreme Court live oral argument audio
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court streams argument audio from its site when arguments are scheduled. Audio and transcripts are usually posted later the same day.
What students can watch for
What question the Justices keep returning toWhich facts matter mostHow each side defines the rule it wants
Why it matters
This is where lawyers answer questions from the Justices before the Court decides a constitutional or federal law question.
Classroom angle
Use this when students are learning how the Court moves from a written case to public questioning.
Stream preview
Official door ready
Audio stream appears on the official Court page when arguments are scheduled.
Open the official source to confirm the current stream state.Open source
CongressLive doorSenatefloorvotes
U.S. Senate floor webcast
U.S. Senate
The Senate streams floor proceedings when the chamber is in session and posts the floor schedule for the day.
What students can watch for
What question is pendingWhether senators are debating, voting, or waitingHow procedure shapes what happens next
Why it matters
The floor is where senators debate, vote, and move nominations or bills through the chamber.
Classroom angle
Good for showing how procedure, time, and voting shape what the public sees from Congress.
Stream preview
Official door ready
Official Senate floor video is embedded on the Senate page when proceedings are active.
Open the official source to confirm the current stream state.Open source
CongressLive doorHousefloorvotes
U.S. House live floor webcast
U.S. House of Representatives
The House streams floor proceedings when representatives are debating, voting, or conducting other chamber business.
What students can watch for
What question is pendingWhether members are debating or votingHow quickly procedure moves
Why it matters
The House floor shows how bills, amendments, speeches, and votes move through one chamber of Congress.
Classroom angle
Use this to compare the House and Senate, or to ask how rules and time shape what the public sees.
Stream preview
Official door ready
The House live page and Clerk YouTube channel carry the floor stream when available.
Open the official source to confirm the current stream state.Open source
Upcoming
Hearings and meetings to check this week
CongressUpcomingHousecommitteeshearings
House committee meeting repository
U.S. House of Representatives
The House committee repository lists scheduled committee meetings, hearings, markups, and related documents.
What students can watch for
Committee nameHearing purposeWitnesses or linked documents
Why it matters
Committees are where public problems often become testimony, amendments, documents, and proposed law.
Classroom angle
Ask students what problem the committee is investigating and what evidence the witnesses or documents provide.
CongressUpcomingSenatecommitteeshearings
Senate hearings and meetings
U.S. Senate
The Senate lists committee hearings and meetings scheduled for today and future days, with time and location details.
What students can watch for
Who is testifyingWhat evidence is being citedWhether the hearing is oversight, legislation, or nominations
Why it matters
Committees gather facts, question witnesses, and shape bills before the full Senate acts.
Classroom angle
Use a hearing listing to ask what committees do before a bill or nomination reaches the full chamber.
CongressUpcomingCongresscommitteesschedule
Congress.gov committee schedule
Library of Congress
Congress.gov keeps a cross-chamber committee schedule for hearings and meetings, with links into committee records when available.
What students can watch for
Committee nameHearing titleWhether the meeting is oversight, legislation, or nominations
Why it matters
This is a useful wide-angle view when you want one page for committee activity across Congress.
Classroom angle
Ask students to choose one hearing title and predict what evidence, witnesses, or constitutional powers might be involved.
CongressUpcomingJudiciarycourtsrights
Senate Judiciary Committee hearings
Senate Judiciary Committee
Judiciary hearings often cover courts, constitutional rights, nominations, public safety, and federal law.
What students can watch for
How senators frame rights and powersWitness expertiseWhat questions repeat across party lines
Why it matters
This committee is one of the clearest places to watch constitutional questions move through Congress.
Classroom angle
Useful for connecting courts, nominations, rights, public safety, and congressional oversight.
CongressUpcomingeducationhealthlabor
Senate HELP Committee hearings
Senate HELP Committee
The Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee posts hearings on schools, work, health care, and public programs.
What students can watch for
The problem each witness namesWho has authority to actHow proposed rules would affect everyday life
Why it matters
A lot of civic life happens through policy details. This committee is a useful place to see those details discussed in public.
Classroom angle
Use this to show how national policy questions can begin with testimony, evidence, and public programs.
Calendar
Court and public calendars
AgenciesCalendaragenciesrulespublic records
Federal Register public inspection desk
Federal Register
The public inspection desk previews federal rules, notices, and presidential documents before they are formally published.
What students can watch for
Which agency is actingWhether the document is a proposed rule or noticeDeadlines and public comment windows
Why it matters
This is where agency action becomes visible as proposed rules, notices, and official documents people can track.
Classroom angle
Use this to show that government power is not only speeches and votes. It also appears through notices, rules, deadlines, and public records.
AgenciesCalendarpublic commentagenciesrules
Regulations.gov open comment search
Regulations.gov
Regulations.gov lets the public search federal rulemaking dockets and submit comments on many proposed agency actions.
What students can watch for
Comment deadlineAgency nameWho would be affected by the rule
Why it matters
Public comment is one way people can respond before agencies finalize rules that affect daily life.
Classroom angle
Pick one open docket and ask students what problem the agency is trying to solve, who may be affected, and what a useful comment would include.
CourtsCalendarfederal courtMichigancalendar
Eastern District of Michigan court hearing calendar
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
This federal court calendar notes hearings and can show audio attendance information for accessible proceedings.
What students can watch for
Whether the matter is criminal, civil, or proceduralThe judgeWhether remote attendance information is available
Why it matters
Federal trial courts are where many constitutional and federal law disputes first become concrete.
Classroom angle
Good for showing the daily rhythm of trial courts before issues become appeals or Supreme Court cases.
CourtsCalendarfederal courtWisconsincalendar
Eastern District of Wisconsin court hearings
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
The court posts public hearing calendars with case names, judges, and scheduled times.
What students can watch for
Type of hearingCase nameWhether the calendar warns of schedule changes
Why it matters
District court calendars show the daily work of federal justice: motions, pleas, sentencing, status conferences, and trials.
Classroom angle
Use this as a concrete example of how public court calendars organize cases, judges, and proceeding types.
CourtsCalendarfederal courtMassachusettscalendar
District of Massachusetts Courtlist
U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
Courtlist is a public daily schedule for hearings in the District of Massachusetts.
What students can watch for
Which hearings are publicHow the court labels proceeding typesWhether a case is active today
Why it matters
A court list helps families see that public justice is organized by time, courtroom, judge, and case.
Classroom angle
Good for asking students what a public schedule reveals about transparency and access.
CourtsCalendarfederal courtdirectorypublic access
Federal court website directory
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
The U.S. Courts directory links to individual federal court websites, where many courts publish calendars, orders, access rules, and public notices.
What students can watch for
Court locationCalendar or notices linkAccess instructions for public proceedings
Why it matters
This is the right starting point when you need the official page for a specific federal court instead of a national court source.
Classroom angle
Use this to show that public access is local and practical: each court controls its own calendar, access rules, and notices.
CourtsCalendarfederal courtVirginiacalendar
Eastern District of Virginia court schedules
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
This court publishes schedule links by courthouse and judge for upcoming proceedings.
What students can watch for
Courthouse locationJudge assignmentWhether the proceeding is scheduled today or tomorrow
Why it matters
Court schedules are useful civic documents because they show how judges, parties, and the public share time in a public institution.
Classroom angle
Use this to compare courthouse schedules and discuss why public access still has practical limits.
Archive
Archives and replays
ArchivesArchiveSupreme Courtarchivetranscripts
Supreme Court argument audio archive
Supreme Court of the United States
If there is no live argument today, the Court posts same-day audio and transcripts for arguments that have already happened.
What students can watch for
The docket numberThe constitutional issueWhere the transcript changes the way the audio sounds
Why it matters
A replay can be easier for families because you can pause, read the transcript, and discuss one question at a time.
Classroom angle
Pair an archived argument with a short transcript excerpt so students can compare spoken questions with written legal issues.
Source rules
What this guide will and will not claim
- Court access varies by court, judge, case type, and proceeding. Some public hearings are in person only.
- Schedules can change quickly. Always treat the official court or government page as the final source.
- This guide links to official public sources first. When a live stream is not available, it points to the official schedule or archive.
Classroom move
Turn a public session into a lesson
- 1. Open the official source and identify what public body is acting.
- 2. Ask students what power, right, rule, or public problem is visible.
- 3. Pair it with a Learn topic or build a classroom kit from the source.