IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 314 
Expressing the sense of Congress on the closure of the main entrance to 
the Supreme Court. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 30, 2010 
Ms. ESHOO (for herself, Mr. BACA, Mr. BECERRA, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CARDOZA, 
Mr. COSTELLO, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. FARR, 
Mr. FILNER, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. GRAYSON, Ms. JACKSON LEE of 
Texas, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. ZOE 
LOFGREN of California, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts, 
Ms. MATSUI, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. NADLER of New York, Mr. OBEY, Mr. 
PALLONE, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Ms. RICHARDSON, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, 
Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Ms. SLAUGH-
TER, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. 
WELCH, and Ms. WOOLSEY) submitted the following concurrent resolu-
tion; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress on the closure of the main 
entrance to the Supreme Court. 
Whereas every day in the United States, Americans rise, 
place their hands on their hearts, and recite a pledge to 
this Nation that concludes with the assertion of ‘‘justice 
for all’’; 
Whereas the courts of our Nation are where justice is nur-
tured, dispensed without fear or favor, with equality of 
standing and stature; 
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•HCON 314 IH 
Whereas in 1932, in laying the cornerstone of the building 
that would become the first and only permanent home for 
the Supreme Court of the United States, Chief Justice 
Charles Evans Hughes told a Nation struggling through 
the depths of the Great Depression that one of its most 
treasured institutions remained vibrant and open, saying: 
‘‘The Republic endures, and this is the symbol of its 
faith’’; 
Whereas on the west fac¸ade of the Supreme Court building, 
above the front doors of the Court, are engraved the 
words: ‘‘Equal Justice Under Law’’, encapsulating the 
principle of justice for all; 
Whereas beneath the west fac¸ade, the doors to the Supreme 
Court feature bronze sculptures depicting historic scenes 
in the evolution of the law, moments upon which this Na-
tion’s traditions of justice and equality are founded; 
Whereas it is a powerful symbol of the American commitment 
to the principle of ‘‘justice for all’’ that the front doors 
to the Supreme Court remain open for all to enter; 
Whereas since the Supreme Court occupied its permanent 
home in 1935, millions of Americans have stepped 
through those open doors—to seek justice, to watch the 
Court work with openness, and, each in their own way, 
to pay tribute to a Nation not of men but of laws; 
Whereas, on May 3, 2010, United States Supreme Court 
Chief Justice John Roberts announced unilaterally that 
the Supreme Court—for the first time in nearly 75 
years—would be closing its western entrance to the pub-
lic based on security concerns; 
Whereas in the words of Justice Stephen Breyer, as joined 
by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, ‘‘To many members of 
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