Saturday, May 28, 2011

'Open Court'

It is a fundamental principle of the United States legal system that courts should be open to the public. This principle is widely regarded as more aspirational than factual, because of numerous practical barriers to courtroom access -- not the least of which is that most of us do not have the time or ability to travel to the court to witness proceedings in person. While the news media report on judicial proceedings, their resources are limited; as a result, coverage is normally focused on specific cases of particular interest. Moreover, audiovisual recording of judicial activity is sporadic due to a complicated patchwork of largely discretionary rules about allowing cameras in the courtroom.

OpenCourt, an experimental project launched on May 2, 2011, by WBUR, Boston's NPR news station, seeks to change all of that. With the cooperation of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the highest court in the Commonwealth) and the Massachusetts District Court (a department of the Massachusetts Trial Court), the OpenCourt project has started streaming live video and audio of the proceedings in the First Session of Quincy District Court. OpenCourt also provides WiFi access to journalists and bloggers so that they can report live from the courtroom.

The goal of the OpenCourt project is to develop a set of standards and best practices for live access to the courts that can be replicated in courtrooms around the country.

Full Article and Source:
Announcing OpenCourt

4 comments:

  1. BrianSaturday, May 28, 2011 8:02:00 AM

    All courts should be open no matter what, so the public sees that the courts are operating in accordance with law.

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  2. AnonymousSaturday, May 28, 2011 7:45:00 PM

    This is the only thing that will stop the corruption. I hope this procedure soon becomes the norm in every state.

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  3. ThelmaSunday, May 29, 2011 8:18:00 AM

    Protective statutes are promulgated in the public interest. Guardianship proceedings should never be sealed, especially when secrecy guarantees a feasting frenzy.

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  4. tvfieldsSunday, May 29, 2011 10:03:00 AM

    "The goal of the OpenCourt project is to develop a set of standards and best practices for live access to the courts that can be replicated in courtrooms around the country."

    While such Open Court practices are needed, so too are others, especially the court reporting system reform that is described at http://home.roadrunner.com/~tvfields/CrtRptSysReform.htm

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