The Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts, said in 2014 that courts will always be careful when it comes to “the next big thing” in technology. And it took a worldwide pandemic for the U.S. Supreme Court to finally agree to use, of all things, the telephone. In May, the court’s members will hear arguments over the telephone for the first time. Public television service C-SPAN will broadcast audio of the arguments “live.” Clare Cushman is director of publications at the Supreme Court Historical Society. She called the decision to use telephones a “giant leap forward” for a place that sticks to tradition.