Wiley Rein Authors RTDNA’s New Edition of ‘Cameras in the Courts’ Guide

January 8, 2016

Wiley Rein LLP, in cooperation with The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), has produced the latest edition of the acclaimed “Cameras in the Courts State by State Guide,” with completely updated information from every state and from federal courts. The guide covers rules regarding video and still cameras, microphones, laptops, smartphones, and more, including even live blogging and tweeting.

The “Cameras in the Courts Guide” was developed as a pro bono effort by Wiley Rein partner and chair of the firm’s Media Practice Kathleen A. Kirby, who serves as counsel to RTDNA. Ms. Kirby, along with Wiley Rein associate Kathleen E. Scott and summer associate Ashley Criss, authored the updated guide. The current version was completely revised in the Fall of 2015 and is updated as rules change.  

“It is our goal to have courtrooms in every state and at every level open to electronic journalists and the news gathering tools they use every day,” said RTDNA Executive Director Mike Cavender. “The judicial branch of government conducts the public’s business, and that business should be accessible to all.”

Nearly every state in the union has some provisions on the books to allow electronic media coverage in courtrooms. But procedures at different court levels vary widely. In some states, the courts are presumed to be open unless there are compelling reasons to exclude cameras. In others, so many conditions must be met before cameras are allowed that, in practice, coverage is virtually nonexistent. RTDNA’s guide includes links to the constitutional provisions, state laws, administrative orders, or policies that form the basis of each state’s rules, along with links to media guides and sources of video and audio coverage.

RTDNA is the nation’s leading organization working on behalf of electronic journalists to gain access to America’s courtrooms for cameras, microphones, and other electronic newsgathering tools of the trade. In partnership with its members, other journalism groups, lawmakers, lawyers, clerks, and judges in all 50 states, RTDNA works to responsibly expand opportunities for journalists covering the government’s judicial branch at work.

Wiley Rein provides its media clients in the radio and television broadcasting, multichannel video, print, digital technologies, online communications, and other new media industries a wide array of services to address the legal and business issues they face, whether regulatory, policy, or transactional. Wiley Rein also has a long history of involvement with emerging technologies, including digital, high-definition, and mobile television, audio and video streaming, direct broadcast satellite services, fiber optics, high-speed data services, and the latest wireless data transmission technologies.