Yes

by W Thomas Payne

Created on: September 14, 2008

Judges continue to deny access to their courtrooms of electronic recording devices still and video camera, and audio recorders using an argument that the would be disruptive to the proceedings and unfit for the decorum of the courts to permit such devices within the judge's domain. Is that really the reason behind the ban or is it that judges have something to fear that the public will become aware of what really goes on in a courtroom, and no longer be in awe once the antics of judges are brought into the light of day.

In my day-to-day over the last few years, I have covered several criminal and major civil proceedings, and sat through hours and hours of mind-numbing procedural mumbo jumbo, and I have had to wonder (silently, to myself) Isn't this just a bit silly? And in some instances, I have had to wonder How can he get away with that?

Court is no joke, that is not my point. The courts are the final say in the futures of many individuals every single day, all across the United States, and in any nation that follows the rule of law. They should be serious and have very set procedures, so they are consistent in how each person brought before the bench is treated under the law.

And that is my point the public does not have access to see that this is being done. Most citizens do not get paid to sit in a courtroom, and often times the only people in the courtroom besides the judge, bailiff and recorder are the plaintiff and defendant/respondent (defendant in criminal proceedings, respondent in civil), and their attorneys, and other people awaiting a scheduled hearing. And, occasionally, someone like me, who is there to observe and report (via hand written notes) what happened in a very specific trial.

What appalls me is what judges say to people, and how many times the judges will demand complete and utter subjugation to them but treat utterly and with complete disrespect the people before them. It amazes me how the judge will seemingly ignore the facts. And it disgusts me that judges will often times bend over to give one side or another an uneven advantage, possibly due to the relationship the judge and that party's attorney have outside of the court.

The proceedings of most courts are open record you can go to your local courthouse and read the files with a simple request. The judges rulings are a matter of public record except when it comes to minors. However, those files are devoid of any of the details, and laying your hands on those details and knowing what actually happened in the courtroom are an entirely different affair. Court transcripts are obtainable at an outrageous cost. Attorneys refuse in most instances to discuss what happened unless you pay them. State and district attorneys have walls built up around them.

It is time that the general public be able to see and hear what goes on in our courts, especially in the courts where the judges have received life appointments such as federal appellate courts where most of the decisions affecting law are made, and more dramatically, in the Supreme Court, where the entire course of our society can be changed.

Learn more about this author, W Thomas Payne.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.