We don't need no courtroom cameras


Aldon Hynes, at Orient Lodge, is hanging out at the Prettyman courthouse waiting for the verdict in the Libby case. Since there's nothing to actually write about Libby at the moment he was on to other subjects, and had this to say:

I am sitting in the Federal Courthouse in Washington DC, waiting for a verdict in the Libby trial. I’ve just gotten back from lunch where I sat with a few people from CourtTV. I told them the story about Ken Krayeske’s arrest, hoping to stir up a little interest in the case. One person, however, mentioned that Connecticut doesn’t allow cameras in its courtrooms.

It seems like this is another topic that folks at MyLeftNutmeg might want to start talking about with their State Representatives and State Senators. Does anyone here know what the rules are about cameras in the courts in Connecticut and how to go about opening up the Connecticut courts to cameras?

It is difficult for me to see how putting cameras in the Connecticut courts would enhance the cause of justice in Mr. Krayeske's case, nor can I see any real possibility that it would enhance the quality of the product delivered in our courts generally. It is, of course, marginally possible that some of our ruder judges would tone down their behavior were they in front of a camera, but it's unlikely the quality of their judging would improve. It's far more likely that we would see behavior like that skewered by Keith Olbermann last week: that of the Florida Judge in the earthshaking litigation involving the rotting body of a very sad excuse for a human being. The judge made a mockery of his courtroom in an apparent attempt to use that courtroom as an audition studio for his very own Judge Judy show.

Television cameras are more likely to have a toxic effect than a salutary one in a courtroom. At first blush it seems like a good idea to open the courtroom to the viewing public, but like many ideas that seem good in theory, it is not that great in practice. After all, it is generally not the case that the cameras show up to televise the cases that involve novel legal issues or even outrageous miscarriages of justice like the Krayeske case. They show up for celebrity deaths and divorces, and a host of other tawdry episodes that already bring out the worst in the people involved. Giving such people a larger stage only makes it worse.
Posted: Tuesday - February 27, 2007 at 09:28 PM          

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