Lights, camera, action: TV cameras allowed in Appeal Courts
Cameras have recently been allowed into court to record court proceedings in the Court of Appeal, following a partial lifting of the long-standing ban. For many years filming was banned in court, except for the UK Supreme Court. Now live broadcasting is available in all of the Courts of Appeal in the UK, but only one court can be covered in a day.
Cameras are still not allowed in Crown and Magistrate courts but it can only be a matter of time until this happens. Broadcasters have been lobbying for change for many years and they will not be satisfied with dry legal arguments in the Court of Appeal.
From public attendance to private homes
Most courts in Britain are open in the sense that members of the public (including journalists) can sit in court and listen to cases. This is in line with the principle of open justice where only cases which require privacy are not open to the public e.g. sensitive child care cases. So in reality, anyone wanting to understand the workings of the courts or the administration of justice need only visit their local court to observe. What the new change brings is footage into the public’s living rooms and that footage had better be worth watching.
The first case televised involved a rather boring appeal on sentence, the convicted person represented by none other than the Prime Minster’s older brother. It won’t be the sort of television to hold the viewers’ attention for long and there are concerns that an extension to Crown Court trials can and will be brought in without further primary legislation.
Is there a risk?
Whilst there are some safeguards such as a time-delay system and not showing the faces of witnesses or victims, there is a real risk that television will distort the behaviour of lawyers, jurors and judges. With editing, there is the risk people watching have only seen selected parts and do not understand the decisions of a jury who saw all of the evidence. In the US, the public often believe they have followed a trial, but most have only watched the highlights. In many cases
the jury has been heavily criticised for their decisions yet it was they who had sat through the whole trial. The risk is jurors feel abused and there is damage to the system of trial by jury not television. There is also the danger that it could become another form of entertainment which undermines confidence in the legal system.
