The verdict is still out on whether to allow televising and/or webcasting of Supreme Court and other federal court proceedings, according to a Nov. 8 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report obtained by the Federation of American Scientists.
The Supreme Court has never allowed live electronic media coverage of its proceedings. Federal rules bar photographing or broadcasting judicial proceedings in criminal cases at federal courts. And the U.S. Judicial Conference prohibits televising, recording and broadcasting district trial court proceedings in both civil and criminal cases.
Although legislation to allow video coverage of such proceedings has been circulating since at least the 105th Congress, none of the bills has been enacted, according to the CRS report.
“Some advocates of electronic media coverage of federal court proceedings have said that advanced technology can give Americans a virtual front-row seat in a courtroom, via television and other electronic formats such as the Internet,” the report states. “Opponents of such coverage, however, are concerned that it could have a detrimental effect on court proceedings and could raise security and privacy concerns.”
At the April 4 House hearing on the Supreme Court’s budget request for fiscal 2007, Justice Clarence Thomas expressed concerns that televising the court’s proceedings would risk undermining the manner in which it considers cases, the report adds.
“He noted that while some justices felt more strongly than others, the ‘general consensus’ was ‘not one of glee,’” the report states.
Of the five bills that would allow electronic media coverage, three would grant discretionary authority to presiding judges to permit photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting or televising of district and appellate court proceedings, including Supreme Court proceedings. The other two bills, S. 1768 and H.R. 4380, would require televising all open sessions of the Supreme Court only.
H.R. 4380 is pending in the House Judiciary Committee’s Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee. The Senate Judiciary Committee reported out S. 1768 in March. It now waits on the Senate Legislative Calendar.
The bills are not on Congress’ radar right now, said Jack King, a spokesman for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). The group supports cameras in the courtrooms, as long as both the prosecution and the defense consent to them.
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