Cook County to begin test of cameras in courtrooms
Media cameras and audio recording devices will be allowed in some Cook County courtrooms beginning next month, Cook County circuit court Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced Tuesday.
The pilot program begins on a limited basis on Jan. 5, 2015, in some felony courtrooms at the George N. Leighton Criminal Court Building, in Chicago. The Illinois Supreme Court approved the use of cameras in trial courtrooms in January 2012 as a way of making legal proceedings more transparent.
Chief Justice Rita B. Garman hailed Cook County's program as a "significant and very welcome step" in those efforts, adding in a prepared statement that "procedures have been adopted to protect both the public's right to know and the rights of victims, jurors and others to be shielded from unwanted publicity."
Media representatives must file a request to bring cameras into the courtroom at least 14 days before a proceeding, according to the policy. The judge presiding over the case will schedule a hearing with the parties involved at which point those individuals, as well as witnesses, may object to the media's request. The ruling of the judge allowing or barring cameras is final and cannot be appealed, according to the policy.
Certain exceptions exist. Media coverage is prohibited in juvenile, divorce, adoption, child custody, evidence suppression and trade secret cases. Additionally, in the case of a sexual abuse prosecution, coverage of the accuser's testimony is prohibited without his or her consent.
Evans welcomed the pilot program as a way of demonstrating to the public that justice can be fair and impartial.
"I am extremely pleased that the public will now hear and see through extended media coverage, exactly what is taking place in Cook County courtrooms," Evans said in a prepared statement. "This is a tremendous step forward to enhanced transparency and accountability at every level of the court system."