WASHINGTON -- Transparency in federal courtrooms today scored a victory when legislation introduced by Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa passed the Senate Judiciary Committee
allowing
federal trial and appellate judges to permit cameras in the courtroom.
Grassley first introduced
the Sunshine in the Courtroom Act in the 106th Congress with Senator Charles Schumer of New York. The bill has had broad bi-partisan support and has passed the Judiciary Committee several times.
“The bill will help the public become better informed about the judicial process and produce a healthier judiciary. It 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,” Grassley said. “Nearly all state courts allow cameras in courtrooms. It’s time for the sun to shine on the federal courts. The public has a right to know what goes on behind the courthouse doors.”
The bipartisan “Sunshine in the Courtroom” bill was supported by eight members of the Committee. It
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 witnesses by giving them the right to have their faces and voices obscured.
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