TV Cameras in the Courtroom Int

Although the title of this research is broad, cameras, in the context of this paper, refers to television cameras. Courts in different jurisdictions in the United States impose differing restrictions on media coverage within courtrooms. Some jurisdictions do not allow cameras of any kind, requiring even the print media to employ artist sketches for any visual reporting of courtroom proceedings. Others permit the use of still cameras under controlled conditions. Few jurisdictions permit the unrestricted use of television cameras in courtrooms. Most jurisdictions that do permit television cameras in the courtroom do not permit continuous live coverage of the proceedings.

There are a variety of issues involved in the question of permitting television cameras in the courtroom. At times, the imperatives of these issues conflict with one another. First, there is the constitutional guarantee in the United States of the right of a fair trial. Some legal and civil liberties authorities and advocates contend that the presence of television cameras in courtrooms undermines the right to a fair trial. Second, there are the rights of the general public in the United States to both know what transpires in courtrooms, and to have access to those courtrooms. Precedent exists for the curtailing of each of these rights under certain circumstances. Third, the judicial system in the United States is a part of the country's government. In this context, the American public ha

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States is frequently impinged upon by the federal government in the name of national security. The recently completed trial of Manuel Noreiga, regardless of one's personal opinion on the outcome of that case, was one in which the defendant was denied the right to see all of the evidence against him, and in which he was denied the right to confront all of his accusers. Panama and the other countries of Central America constitute no threat to the national security of the United States. The actions of many American government operatives in that region, were they made public, however, could be highly embarrassing to the federal government. Thus, the federal prosecutors, together with the federal trial judge, suppressed evidence and shielded accusers in ways that impinged on the defendant's right to a fair trial. Because government in the United States often does act in ways that deny a defendant a fair trial, it is doubly important to scrutinize any claims that actions, such as allowing television cameras in the courtroom, will impinge upon a defendant's right to a fair trial. The hidden agenda of those individuals making such claims may be simply to shield government's judicial behavior from the general public (Rapping 34).

Category: Government - T