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Sunday, May 14, 2006
Ind. Courts - Evansville Courier&Press editorial on move to allow cameras in trial courtrooms
From an Evansville Courier& Press editorial today:
Indiana's trial courtrooms are every bit as much public meeting halls as are council and legislative chambers. They are rooms where the business of the people is conducted.And yet, for too long, the people's eyes and ears - cameras and microphones - have been denied access to those rooms.
That's about to change in Indiana. In a historic decision, Indiana Chief Justice Randall Shepard announced on Tuesday that eight judges in the state will lead a pilot project to allow cameras into trial courts on an experimental basis. "We think, in general, the public benefits by knowing more about what happens in its courts," said Shepard, a former Vanderburgh Superior Court judge.
Of course it does, just as it benefits from having accessibility to all proceedings of its government.
Even as numerous other states were opening their doors to cameras, Indiana kept its courtroom doors closed to them for decades, in part for two reasons: distraction and decorum.
The judiciary did not want noisy visual equipment distracting from the proceedings of its courts. But modern camera and video equipment, handled by professionals aware of court concerns, can be operated now in relative silence.
As for decorum, there has been some concern that trial lawyers might play to the cameras. Perhaps, but that is an issue that presiding judges are fully capable of controlling.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 14, 2006 08:35 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts