Judicial Conference’s advisory committee for criminal rules recommends no change to camera ban

As reported in this recent Bloomberg Law piece, “A judiciary panel has recommended against revising a rule that prohibits broadcasting of federal criminal trials, following a push to permit cameras ahead of potential trials involving former President Donald Trump.” Here is more:

Members of a subcommittee created last year to study the issue raised concerns that allowing criminal trials to be broadcast “would have a negative effect on witnesses and victims in criminal cases” and “stressed the need for a cautious approach to broadcasting in criminal cases,” according to a recently published October memo to the full committee.

Panel members cited examples of cases involving sexual abuse, gangs, and confidential informants where broadcasting could chill witness cooperation. And they worried the policy allowing audio broadcasting of some civil cases is too new to expand to the criminal context.

The panel said if there is “continued interest” in broadcasting criminal cases, the issue could be revisited after enough time has passed for that policy change to be formally reviewed.

The memo, dated Oct. 9, was authored by Professors Sara Sun Beale of Duke University School of Law and Nancy King of the Vanderbilt University Law School, reporters for the Judicial Conference’s advisory committee on criminal rules, and included in materials released ahead of the committee’s scheduled meeting next month.

Because I am an advocate of increased criminal justice transparency and accountability, I find this news disappointing, but not especially surprising.  I fully understand the need for some (perhaps many) proceedings to shielded from any broadcasting, but a blanket ban with no exceptions seems a bit too cautious to me.