An Open Courtroom

On June 30, 1997, the experiment, initiated in 1987, that gave trial judges discretion to allow televised and still-camera coverage of civil and criminal trial court proceedings in New York State came to an end. After two years of investigation, a 12-member, state-appointed committee has issued its findings and recommendations on the question of cameras in New York courts. Their results are contained in An Open Courtroom. This book offers: an introduction, executive summary; overview of the committee's work; a summary of the current law; overview of camera laws in other states and in federal courts; summary of the committee's record; the committee's assessment and conclusions; recommendation; appendices which include the results of a jurist poll and the committee's judicial survey, interviews, and other pertinent data; and a minority report/ dissent arguing against the committee's recommendations.

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Executive Summary	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
Over View of the Committee's Work	p. 5
Summary of Current Law	p. 9
Section 218 of the Judiciary Law	p. 9
Judicial Discretion	p. 9
Safeguards for Defendants in Criminal Proceedings and Parties in Civil Proceedings	p. 11
Safeguards for Witnesses	p. 11
Safeguards for Children	p. 13
Safeguards for Jurors	p. 13
Other Safeguards	p. 13
Pretrial Conference	p. 14
Equipment and Personnel Restrictions	p. 14
Appeals	p. 15
Rules of the Chief Administrative Judge	p. 15
Over View of Camera Coverage Laws in Other States and in Federal Courts	p. 19
State Courts	p. 19
50-State Overview	p. 19
California	p. 20
Federal Courts	p. 22
Summary of the Committee's Record	p. 27
Public Benefits	p. 27
Public Education about the Courts	p. 28
Judicial Accountability and Public Scrutiny of the Judicial System	p. 31
Cathartic and Deterrent Effects	p. 33
Other Benefits	p. 34
Opponents' Views	p. 36
Nature of Televised Coverage	p. 37
Effect on Witnesses	p. 39
Fair Trial Implications	p. 41
Privacy Concerns	p. 43
Compliance by Trial Judges and the Media	p. 44
Compliance by Trial Judges	p. 44
Testimony and Public Comment	p. 44
Results of the Committee's Judicial Survey	p. 46
Office of Court Administration Data	p. 49
Compliance by the Media	p. 49
Effect of Audio-Visual Coverage on the Conduct of Participants in Court Proceedings	p. 52
Effect on Jurors	p. 53
Effect on Witnesses	p. 58
Effect on Lawyers	p. 62
Effect on Judges	p. 64
Inside the Courtroom	p. 64
Outside the Courtroom	p. 67
Committee's Assessment and Conclusions	p. 69
Public Benefits	p. 69
Compliance by Trial Judges and the News Media with the Safeguards of Section 218 of the Judiciary Law	p. 71
Judges	p. 71
News Media	p. 74
Effect of Audio-Visual Coverage on the Conduct of Participants in Court Proceedings	p. 74
Jurors	p. 76
Witnesses	p. 77
Lawyers	p. 78
Judges	p. 79
Defendant's Consent	p. 80
Recommendations	p. 83
Cameras Should Be Permitted in New York State Courts on a Permanent Basis with All of the Safeguards of Current Law for Parties, Prospective Witnesses, Jurors, Crime Victims, and Other Trial Participants	p. 83
Defendant Consent Should Be a Prerequisite for Camera Coverage of Bail Hearings	p. 84
There Should Be No Separate Rule for Death Penalty Cases	p. 85
Judges Should Be Vigilant in Addressing the Safety and Privacy Concerns of Witnesses in Both Criminal and Civil Proceedings	p. 85
The Office of Court Administration Should Actively Monitor Camera-Covered Proceedings, Make Periodic Reports, and, If Necessary, Recommend Changes in Section 218 of the Judiciary Law and the Implementing Rules	p. 86
The Office of Court Administration Should Develop an Enhanced Judicial Training Program to Familiarize All Judges with the Applicable Statutory and Administrative Provisions and Safeguards	p. 88
Appendices
Judicial Survey	p. 93
Marist Institute for Public Opinion Poll	p. 113
Judiciary Law, Section 218	p. 125
Rules of the Chief Administrative Judge	p. 133
California Rule of Court 980	p. 149
Overview of Camera Coverage Laws in the Fifty States	p. 157
Jury Consultant Interviews	p. 171
Office of Court Administration Data on News Media Applications for Audio-Visual Coverage of Court Proceedings	p. 175
Sample Monitoring Instrument for Camera-Experienced Lawyers	p. 191
Judicial Training Program Outline	p. 199
Selected Bibliography	p. 201
Minority Report	p. 207
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

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