WASHINGTON -- Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Charles Schumer of New York, have introduced legislation to allow federal trial and appellate judges to permit cameras in the courtroom. The Senators have led efforts over the last several years to ensure the sun shines in on the federal courts.
The bill has broad bi-partisan support and has passed the Judiciary Committee several times. The cosponsors of the legislation are the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter as well as Judiciary Committee members Lindsey Graham, Dick Durbin, John Cornyn and Russ Feingold.
The Senators’ introduction of their “Cameras in the Courtroom” legislation coincides with "Sunshine Week," a national initiative to bring attention to the importance of an open and transparent government.
“Our judicial system is one of the best kept secrets in the United States. Letting the sun shine in on federal courtrooms will give Americans an opportunity to better understand the judicial process,” Grassley said. “The bill
goes to the heart of an open, transparent government and is based upon the core beliefs of our Constitution’s Founding Fathers about the judiciary.
It’s just the best way to maintain confidence and accountability in the system and help judges do a better job.”
“Allowing cameras in the courtroom will help demystify our judicial system,” Schumer said. “There is a danger imposed on our society and our democracy when we close off these institutions. This bill would bolster confidence in our judicial system, increase faith in the integrity of our courts, and underscore that we are a nation devoted to the rule of law.”
The bipartisan “Sunshine in the Courtroom” bill
would allow the chief judge of federal trial appellate courts
to permit cameras in their courtrooms. The bill would also direct the Judicial Conference, the principal policy-making entity for the federal courts, to draft nonbinding guidelines that judges can refer to in making a decision pertaining to the coverage of a particular case. It also instructs the Judicial Conference to issue mandatory guidelines for obscuring vulnerable witnesses such as undercover officers, victims of crime, and their families.
Forty-eight states currently permit some form of audio-video coverage in their courtrooms and at least 37 directly televise trials. Studies and surveys conducted in many of those states have confirmed that electronic media coverage of trials boosts public understanding of the court system without interfering with court proceedings. Fifteen states have conducted studies aimed specifically at the educational benefits that are derived from camera access to courtrooms. They all determined that camera coverage contributes to greater public understanding of the judicial system.
In order to provide a mechanism for Congress to study the effects of this legislation on our judiciary before making this change permanent, a three-year sunset provision is included in the bill.
The “Sunshine in the Courtroom” bill does not require a federal judge in a federal court to allow camera access to judicial proceedings. The bill gives federal judges the discretion to allow cameras or other electronic media access if they see fit. The bill also protects the privacy and safety of non-party witnesses by giving them the right to have their faces and voices obscured.
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