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Sunday, March 11, 2007
Ind. Courts - More on: Cameras in trial courtrooms pilot hits snag
The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel is carrying an AP story by Emily Udell, headlined "Courtroom camera effort stalls." This follows on an earlier Journal Gazette editorial, blogged in this Feb. 16th ILB entry. Today's story begins:
INDIANAPOLIS - A pilot project to allow cameras into Indiana civil and criminal courts has stalled eight months into the effort, with only a few broadcasters gaining access to the courtrooms the project was intended to open.Only five cases have been recorded since the program's July 2006 launch, and some access proponents worry there won't be enough cases to evaluate by the project's Dec. 31 conclusion.
Coordinators attribute the low participation to the fact that the program requires written consent from all parties involved in a case, including attorneys on both sides. In January, the Indiana Broadcasters Association sent a letter to the Indiana Supreme Court, asking that the program be amended so the judge has sole discretion in deciding to let the media film court proceedings.
Most states allow cameras some level of access to courtrooms. Nearly 20 states require only the judge's consent, said Dan Byron, general counsel for the Indiana Broadcasters Association.
"For this to be a fair test, the Supreme Court is going to have to hand down an order that will take the attorneys and prosecutors out of the loop," said Randy Wheeler, news director at WIKY in Evansville and media pool coordinator for Vanderburgh and Warrick counties.
Approximately 350 requests for media access to state courtrooms have been rejected since the project began, Byron said. In most cases, criminal defense attorneys said their clients did not want to be photographed or filmed.
"The project proposed by broadcasters was really restrictive, in fact, more restrictive than most states," said David Remondini, an Indiana Supreme Court spokesman and liaison for the program. "I knew it was not going to be an easy sell."
Remondini declined to comment on when the court would respond to the broadcast group's letter.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 11, 2007 01:02 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts