Arizona S.C. makes judges justify decisions to ban cameras from courtrooms
Today the Arizona Supreme Court announced changes to rules governing cameras in the courtroom, making it more difficult for judges to ban cameras willy-nilly. The changes, effective Jan. 1, 2009, require a trial judge to make written findings if he or she prohibits camera coverage and require the judge to state that camera coverage poses a likelihood of harm to the trial. Also, the new rules allow people to appeal camera bans to the Court of Appeals.
This is a great court rule change, fought hard by media law attorney David Bodney, KPNX-TV, and others in the state. Cameras can still be banned for good reasons, but those reasons have to be put in writing, making the judge think a little before blocking out visual journalists of trials. For more information, see a copy of the rule amendments.