{ "id": "R44514", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R44514", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 619690, "date": "2019-10-28", "retrieved": "2020-03-15T19:20:57.479671", "title": "Video Broadcasting from the Federal Courts: Issues for Congress", "summary": "Members of Congress, along with the legal community, journalists, and the public, have long considered the potential merits and drawbacks of using video cameras to record and/or broadcast courtroom proceedings. The first bill to propose video camera use in the federal courts was introduced in the House of Representatives in 1937, and since the mid-1990s, Members of Congress in both chambers have regularly introduced bills to expand the use of cameras in the federal courts and have sometimes held hearings on the subject. \nVideo cameras are commonly used in state and local courtrooms throughout the United States to record and broadcast proceedings. All 50 state supreme courts in the United States allow video cameras under certain conditions, and cameras are allowed in many states for trial and appellate proceedings. Yet video cameras are not widely used in federal circuit and district courts, and they are not used at all in the Supreme Court. Rule 53 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure has banned photography and broadcasting of any federal criminal proceedings since 1946, and this policy remains in effect. The Judicial Conference of the United States conducted pilot programs from 1991 to 1994 and from 2011 to 2015 to study the use of video cameras in federal courtrooms in civil proceedings. As a result of their participation in these pilot programs, two federal circuit courts and three federal district courts presently allow video cameras in their courtrooms under certain circumstances. \nEven as the use of cameras in courts has become more widespread during the past few decades, many of the fundamental questions about the use of video cameras in the courts remain relatively unchanged. \nThe debate regarding video cameras in federal courtrooms revolves around these and other issues:\nthe appropriate degree of congressional involvement in matters related to the operation of the federal judiciary;\nthe degree of access the public and media should have to the federal courts;\nthe advantages and disadvantages of additional judicial transparency;\nthe potential effects of cameras in the courtroom on ensuring a fair trial and protecting participants\u2019 privacy; and \nthe possible ways in which cameras may alter the way courts conduct business and affect judicial integrity.\nAddressing these issues often involves balancing one consideration against another. For example, protections to make sure the accused receives a fair trial might lead to more restricted public or media access to the courts.\nGenerally, while Congress may legislate in this area, to date, considerable deference has been given to the Supreme Court Justices and other officials within the federal judiciary in determining if and how video recording and broadcasting should be implemented in the federal courts.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44514", "sha1": "ec963de43550e4557ab391cc7c29a952e16fdeaa", "filename": "files/20191028_R44514_ec963de43550e4557ab391cc7c29a952e16fdeaa.html", "images": {} }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44514", "sha1": "467e0ce75c3873fbda5849081ef39ee2f43f1b2d", "filename": "files/20191028_R44514_467e0ce75c3873fbda5849081ef39ee2f43f1b2d.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 453075, "date": "2016-06-01", "retrieved": "2016-06-21T21:10:16.640819", "title": "Video Broadcasting from the Federal Courts: Issues for Congress", "summary": "Members of Congress, along with the legal community, journalists, and the public, have long considered the potential merits and drawbacks of using video cameras to record and/or broadcast courtroom proceedings. The first bill to propose video camera use in the federal courts was introduced in the House of Representatives in 1937, and since the mid-1990s, Members of Congress in both chambers have regularly introduced bills to expand the use of cameras in the federal courts and have sometimes held hearings on the subject. \nVideo cameras are commonly used in state and local courtrooms throughout the United States to record and broadcast proceedings. All 50 state supreme courts in the United States allow video cameras under certain conditions, and cameras are allowed in many states for trial and appellate proceedings. Yet video cameras are not widely used in federal circuit and district courts, and they are not used at all in the Supreme Court. While Rule 53 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure has banned photography and broadcasting of any federal criminal proceedings since 1946, the Judicial Conference of the United States conducted pilot programs from 1991 to 1994 and from 2011 to 2015 to study the use of video cameras in federal courtrooms in civil proceedings. As a result of their participation in these pilot programs, two federal circuit courts and 14 federal district courts presently allow video cameras in their courtrooms under certain circumstances.\nYet even as the use of cameras in courts has become more widespread during the past few decades, many of the fundamental questions about the use of video cameras in the courts remain relatively unchanged. \nThe debate regarding video cameras in federal courtrooms revolves around these and other issues:\nthe appropriate degree of congressional involvement in matters related to the operation of the federal judiciary;\nthe degree of access the public and media should have to the federal courts;\nthe advantages and disadvantages of additional judicial transparency;\nthe potential effects of cameras in the courtroom on ensuring a fair trial and protecting participants\u2019 privacy; and \nthe possible ways in which cameras may alter the way courts conduct business and affect judicial integrity.\nAddressing these issues often involves balancing one consideration against another. For example, protections to make sure the accused receives a fair trial might lead to more restricted public or media access to the courts.\nGenerally, while Congress may legislate in this area, to date, considerable deference has been given to the Supreme Court Justices and other officials within the federal judiciary in determining if and how video recording and broadcasting should be implemented in the federal courts. A study based on the Judicial Conference\u2019s 2011-2015 pilot program is expected later this year and may alter considerations in this policy debate.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44514", "sha1": "b280959d7a0661beff13f2402acf86c076430563", "filename": "files/20160601_R44514_b280959d7a0661beff13f2402acf86c076430563.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44514", "sha1": "2522b097461fe5a9bb3230406a45d3b926810e83", "filename": "files/20160601_R44514_2522b097461fe5a9bb3230406a45d3b926810e83.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "American Law", "Constitutional Questions", "Economic Policy", "Foreign Affairs" ] }