Cameras in the Courtroom: Television and the Pursuit of Justice

Synopsis

Through interviews with numerous legal scholars, attorneys, defendants, jurors, witnesses, and journalists, relevant issues are thoroughly examined in this balanced discussion of television in the courtroom. The impact of the cameras in several recent trials, such as those of O.J. Simpson, William Kennedy Smith, and the Menendez brothers, is analyzed, as well as a number of recent cases in which cameras were excluded, including those of Susan Smith and Rodney King. Why the courts, including the Supreme Court, have traditionally excluded cameras is fully covered, and an historical perspective on televised trials is provided. A look at Court TV provides an instructive overview of the good and bad of television coverage, while the concluding sections of the work focus on the future of cameras in the courtroom.