On Tuesday, the federal judiciary prohibited cameras to be installed in trial courts even though most of the justices participating in a four-year pilot program said they would allow video recording of the proceedings if it was allowed.
According to ABC News, a panel of the Judicial Conference of the United States expressed their objection to the pilot project and gave negative reviews that allowed some civil trials to be televised in 14 courts around the nation. The panel suggests keeping in place the longtime ban on cameras in federal district courts.
37 percent of the justices opposed televising the trials, 49 percent favored and 14 percent refused to express an opinion. The percentage in favor went up slightly during the course of the pilot program, which started in July 2011 and ended on July 2015.
Pacific Standard reported that federal judges who opposed cameras in courtrooms cited several concerns. First, the judges worry that cameras will affect the behavior of the participants; jurors will be distracted by the devices and worry about their own safety after having their roles captured on screen; and witnesses will be hesitant and reluctant to testify. Several justices also said that even lawyers might be profoundly be affected by the cameras.
The committee stressed that the presence of cameras in courtrooms often make participants more nervous and distracted, thus, affecting the whole process in the court. They also argued that any change to the camera policy would increase stress and affect in a negative manner to the witnesses' behavior in many scenarios.
Advocates who are pushing to allow cameras in the courtrooms called the report disappointing and said the Judicial Conference was standing in the way of greater transparency, reports The New York Times.
The pilot program was limited to civil proceedings in which all parties agreed to have cameras installed in courtrooms. The recordings were then posted on the federal judiciary's website where the public could watch it for free.
