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TV JURY
Have cameras in the courtroom undermined the U.S. justice system? January 20, 1998 |
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Questions asked
in this forum:
Do lawyers and judges dress and act differently when they're infront of a camera? How do legal shows like "The People's Court" affect America's view of its justice system? Why aren't there cameras in the Supreme Court? How does Court TV decide what cases to cover, and how do cameras in the courts affect the careers of lawyers and judges? Additional comments.
NewsHour Backgrounders
November 10, 1997
The "Nanny," Louise Woodward is convicted and then set free.
June 3, 1997
Comparing the OJ Simpson case with the trial of Timothy McVeigh .
February 5, 1997
The civil trial verdict goes against OJ Simpson.
September 3, 1997:
A look at criminal law in France.
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Patricia Schwarz of Pasadena, CA asks: What about if we videotape trials but only show them after the verdict has been rendered? I think the public has an interest in actually witnessing the justice process. Why can't it be done after the fact instead of in real time? Wouldn't that avoid an OJ situation?
Tim Sullivan, of Court TV responds:
Court TV videotapes trials for broadcast after the verdict all the time. Because we typically air only one trial live at a time (sometimes two), we are constantly taping trials for later broadcast. Usually, this is done at our discretion; it's a programming/scheduling decision. But there have been several cases over the years in which judges have allowed us to tape trials only on the condition that we don't show them until after a verdict. Sometimes we've agreed to do that, but we don't like to do it. The reason we prefer not to do it is because a trial is a news event; it's news while it is happening, not several weeks later.
In the OJ example, if the trial were not aired until after the verdict, that would have been something like nine months after the trial started. In the meantime, newspapers, radio and TV newscasts would have been reporting the action daily -- so why should the general public have to wait nine months to see the trial for itself?
I don't believe delaying the broadcast of the OJ trial would have changed the situation in court very much. Those lawyers were going to act the way they did regardless of whether the trial was telecast live or on tape-delay. They were performing for the jury, the gallery and the press corps that was covering the case daily; a tape-delay would not have encouraged them to behave better.
The ultimate problem with the conduct of the OJ trial was not that a camera was present -- it was that Judge Ito did not exercise authority over those lawyers. The length of the trial, and the public behavior of the lawyers, should have been under his control.
Law Professor Steven Lubet responds:
This is a good idea. It would satisfy the desire for an accurate public record and it would provide an excellent safeguard against "star chamber" or semi-secret proceedings. At the same time, it would prevent the sort of play-to-the-audience atmosphere that was criticized at the Simpson trial.
You might be interested to know that similar approaches are already in use, though not usually with videotape. For example, the transcripts of conferences in chambers are often withheld from the public until the trial is over. The recent deposition of President Clinton was conducted under seal, but (I assume) it will eventually be made public.
The one drawback to this plan is expense. Videotaping a trial isn't cheap, and doing a good job is even more expensive. Right now, it is worthwhile for T.V. stations to cover the expense, since they can make money showing the trial in real time. I don't know if they would want to go to all that trouble for delayed coverage. The court system is perpetually strapped for cash, so public funds would probably be better spent on other things.
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