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Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Ind. Courts - More on: Managing the electronic communication revolution in the Indiana courtroom
In this ILB entry from July 25th, I quoted from an article in the New York Law Journal that: "Attorneys are objecting to tougher rules for bringing laptop computers, cell phones and other electronic devices into Manhattan's Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse."
This story today by Mark Fass of the New York Law Journal, headed "Lawyers Urge End to Court's Cell Phone Ban," gives an update to the situation there:
An ad hoc committee of nine Southern District judges heard public comments last week regarding the potential use of cell phones, laptops and other electronic devices within the Manhattan federal courthouse.Although it is not clear from the story, the general public appears to be prohibited from carrying or using any electornic devices anywhere in the Manhattan federal courthouse. The issue is whether this ban should continue to extend to attorneys also.The 90-minute forum on Thursday was billed as a discussion on whether such equipment should be permitted in the courthouse, notwithstanding concerns regarding security and decorum.
The Manhattan federal courthouse at 500 Pearl St. remains one of the last holdouts in the nation to continue to prohibit such devices for most non-courthouse personnel.
But without a single person speaking in opposition to repealing the ban, the event quickly resembled a pro-phone rally.
"I sort of wish there were representatives here taking the other side," Richard W. Levitt of the New York County Criminal Bar Association told the panel. "Because I simply haven't heard any cogent reason why lawyers who have credentials should not be allowed to bring telephones into the courtroom. Frankly, I just don't get it." * * *
Robert J. Giuffra, the president of the Federal Bar Council, submitted a nine-page, footnoted memorandum with 25 exhibits in support of overturning the ban.
The memo noted that courthouses throughout the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court, permit the use of electronic devices. Giuffra attached copies of district court rules from 24 other jurisdictions -- including the Eastern District of New York, less than 2.5 miles away in Brooklyn -- which allow cell phones.
The court's concerns, as stated in an e-mail by Crotty to the scheduled speakers, include security and "decorum."
The consensus among the speakers last week was that the Southern District's heightened security concerns notwithstanding, if such devices may be safely used on airplanes, there must be a method for safely screening them for courthouse use.
The speakers expressed even less concern regarding the potential threat to decorum. Individual judges may continue to set their own rules regarding phones, several speakers suggested, and, as Syracuse said, "Lawyers are used to following rules."
As Giuffra wrote in his memo, "As officers of the court, lawyers must comply with court orders, rules and procedures, including rules governing conduct inside the courtroom. To a far greater degree than members of the public, lawyers must understand that their failure to follow court orders, rules and procedures can result in penalties."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 4, 2009 12:43 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts