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Monday, August 21, 2006
Ind. Courts - "Early marks are high for cameras in courtrooms"
So reads the headline to this story today by Richard D. Walton in the Indianapolis Star. The story begins:
An experiment to allow cameras in Indiana courtrooms for the first time in decades is getting early high marks and just a few complaints.Among the results thus far, according to observers:
Attorneys seem to be getting along better and are better prepared.
Fears of lawyers showboating or witnesses being intimidated have proved unfounded.
The cameras generally don't disrupt proceedings.
Yet a few problems have cropped up since Indiana Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard announced the program, which on July 1 began allowing video and still cameras in courts in Indianapolis, Evansville and Fort Wayne.
At least one attorney has complained about the difficulty of entering a courtroom because of the assembled media.
Another concern involves the clicking noise that still cameras make. They have caused a few distractions, said Dan Byron, general counsel for the Indiana Broadcasters Association and the chief architect of the terms of the camera project, but the problem can be fixed by using a digital camera with an attachment that muffles sound.
One of the biggest problems, Byron said, is that only about 15 percent of the suspects approached about allowing cameras have consented.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 21, 2006 06:52 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts