Listening to white supremacy on trial

Journal article

Who is the public in a public trial—who has access and who listens? And what does it mean—for the law and for ordinary people—to listen in the context of white supremacy and hate? In 2021, dozens of white supremacists, Christian nationalists and neo‐Nazis faced trial for orchestrating the violent 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The trial of Sines v. Kessler also represented a novel way for members of the public to engage with federal cases in the United States. Through recent innovations, hundreds of listeners were able to dial into a public access line each day to follow the proceedings. Remote audio access to trials raises questions of what it means to listen to the law, as audio mediates and, in some cases, transforms expectations and experiences of open justice. This article analyzes audio remote access in Sines, with reference to listening in other mediatized trials of public significance, to show how agency becomes dispersed through this technology. As the courts lose a degree of their cherished control over proceedings, audio remote access gives rise to unintended consequences and produces its own legal and social meanings.

Authors: Dave, N

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Duke University Press
• Journal: Public Culture
• Volume: 38
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 7–26
• Publication date: 2026-01-01
• Acceptance date: 2025-04-25
• DOI: 10.1215/08992363-12455270
• EISSN: 1527-8018
• ISSN: 0899-2363
• Language: English
• Keywords: law; audio technologies; hate; white supremacy; open justice