Play the lottery and skip the line for a chance to see the Supreme Court in action

WASHINGTON (AP) — People who want to see the Supreme Court in action can skip the line and enter a new online lottery system the court announced Thursday. Starting with cases that will be argued in late February, seats will be distributed via lottery for arguments as well as sessions where the justices don’t hear new cases, but might announce decisions in previously argued ones. The court did not say how many seats would be available through the lottery. The courtroom seats about 400 people but sometimes only a few dozen seats are set aside for the public. The court makes available live audio of all its arguments for people who can’t attend in person.