Courts to stream trial video online using webcams

From “Judge Judy” to last year’s highly televised Casey Anthony case, Americans can watch only a handful of court cases from their living rooms. After all, most courtrooms bar the use of cameras.

But a pilot project will allow video and audio coverage of certain trial court proceedings via webcam in three northern Indiana courtrooms, Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard announced this week.

The project, which will allow cameras in three Lake County courtrooms, will allow direct access to trial court proceedings on the web.

“Citizens will be able to see for themselves what happens in a courtroom as disputes are resolved,” Shepard said.

However, the only organization authorized to webcast these select proceedings will be the Times of Northwest Indiana, which will also pay for the webcasting equipment and installation.

“Allowing the public to view these trials will help demystify the process, provide a better understanding of what goes on in a courtroom and increase the public’s trust in the judicial process,” the Times’ Managing Editor, Paul Mullaney, said in a press release. “We hope the pilot program serves as a springboard to a permanent process.”
 
According to the court order authorizing the cameras, all civil proceedings in the three Lake County courts will be eligible for video and audio coverage. However, criminal proceedings are not eligible.

Cases involving police informants, undercover agents, minors and victims of sex-related offenses are not eligible.

Video feeds will not be displayed live. Instead, Shepard said they must be delayed by at least two hours. This delay is intended to give judges discretion to permit or deny the webcasting of a specific case.

Circuit Judge George Paras, who agreed to participate in the pilot project, said media access to courtrooms is necessary to provide the public with confidence in a court system “conducted by impartial and independent judges.”

“A democracy cannot survive without the media or the courts,” Paras said.

The pilot project will be evaluated by students at Valparaiso University School of Law. Professor Bruce Berner, who will supervise students involved, said students will interview jurors, witnesses and attorneys to determine the impact cameras have on court proceedings. 

“If the evaluation is successful, it might open the door to a real understanding of how a courtroom operates, as opposed to a perception created by television crime,” said Hoosier State Press Association Executive Director Steve Key.

Video feeds for the 18-month trial project can be viewed at the Times of Northwest Indiana website, nwitimes.com.