Court TV(R) Editorial Board Calls for Openness in Supreme Court; Nation's Highest Court Must Reverse Its Ban On Cameras

Court TV(R) Editorial Board Calls for Openness in Supreme Court; Nation's Highest Court Must Reverse Its Ban On Cameras

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- With Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito both saying during their confirmation hearings that they are open to the idea of allowing cameras in the nation's highest court, the Editorial Board of Court TV called, today, on the Supreme Court to reverse its ban on cameras and let the sun shine in.

As part of its new initiative in support of televised Supreme Court hearings, Court TV Chairman and CEO Henry Schleiff and Court TV Chief Anchor and Managing Editor Fred Graham, who is overseeing the network's Editorial Board, will start appearing in short on-air editorials and will submit newspaper op-ed pieces as well as conduct chat room discussions on the network's website. Schleiff and Graham are also scheduled to make their case to members of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee as well as other federal lawmakers.

"The late Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis is famous for saying that 'sunshine is the best disinfectant," said Schleiff. "Televised Supreme Court hearings would provide the window to allow that sun to shine in."

Today in the United States, all 50 states allow cameras in some courts. Forty-three states permit them in trial courts, and of those, 39 permit cameras in criminal courts. Indeed, advances in modern technology have allowed unobtrusive cameras to cover both houses of Congress, for several years now. Notwithstanding such progress, cameras are still not permitted in the Supreme Court. However, that may be about to change - legislation recently introduced in Congress would allow television coverage of the Supreme Court as long as a majority vote of justices allows it or unless they rule that it would constitute a violation of due process rights of one or more parties.

"The age-old arguments for keeping cameras out of the Supreme Court are specious in the 21st Century," Schleiff said. "Given that the public is allowed to attend the proceedings of our nation's highest court in Washington D.C., but that very few can actually fit in the limited space provided for this purpose, we should be permitted to see these cases unfold on television because, in dealing with issues of life, death and our civil liberties, they affect the lives of all Americans and our families."

The Court TV Editorial Board, which is based in Washington DC, is focusing its efforts on key issues including the campaign for wider camera access in all of our courtrooms, both state and federal, as well as tapping into local resources within the legal community to address other issues and initiatives vital to our society today. The board consists of senior network executives.

Court TV(R) provides a window on the American system of justice through distinctive programming that both informs and entertains. Court TV Networks(SM) is comprised of Court TV News(SM), which provides live trial coverage in daytime; and Court TV: Seriously Entertaining(SM) in primetime, featuring investigative drama, expert reality and relevant non-fiction series. Court TV is 50% owned by Time Warner, and 50% owned by Liberty Media Corp, and is seen in 85 million homes. (www.courttv.com or AOL Keyword: Court TV)

Contact:
Carole Shander - Court TV - (212) 973-2629 or shanderc@courttv.com
Adam Miller - Dan Klores Communications - (212) 981-5239 or
adam_miller@dkcnews.com

Source: Court TV

CONTACT: Carole Shander, Court TV, +1-212-973-2629,
shanderc@courttv.com; Adam Miller, Dan Klores Communications, +1-212-981-5239,
adam_miller@dkcnews.com

Web site: http://www.courttv.com/

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