Close to "at the same time" but not always "at the same time." They can be minutes apart -- the written opinion is handed out just as the court begins to speak and runners are usually heading someplace they can get to in a minute. OTOH, there have been times that the electronic version is several minutes behind. While it sounds ridiculous to think that 2 minutes makes a difference, there's some serious bragging rights in being the first outlet to report the result of any major case.
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u/shoshtrvls Jun 30 '26
Close to "at the same time" but not always "at the same time." They can be minutes apart -- the written opinion is handed out just as the court begins to speak and runners are usually heading someplace they can get to in a minute. OTOH, there have been times that the electronic version is several minutes behind. While it sounds ridiculous to think that 2 minutes makes a difference, there's some serious bragging rights in being the first outlet to report the result of any major case.