N.Y. JUD Law § 218 — New York Code / Act JUD / Article 7-A / Section 218
Audio-visual coverage of judicial proceedings
Status: in_force

* § 218. Audio-visual coverage of judicial proceedings. 1.\nAuthorization. Notwithstanding the provisions of section fifty-two of\nthe civil rights law and subject to the provisions of this section, the\nchief judge of the state or his designee may authorize an experimental\nprogram in which presiding trial judges, in their discretion, may permit\naudio-visual coverage of civil and criminal court proceedings, including\ntrials.\n  2. Definitions. For purposes of this section:\n  (a) "Administrative judge" shall mean the administrative judge of each\njudicial district; the administrative judge of Nassau county or of\nSuffolk county; the administrative judge of the civil court of the city\nof New York or of the criminal court of the city of New York; or the\npresiding judge of the court of claims.\n  (b) "Audio-visual coverage" shall mean the electronic broadcasting or\nother transmission to the public of radio or television signals from the\ncourtroom, the recording of sound or light in the courtroom for later\ntransmission or reproduction, or the taking of still or motion pictures\nin the courtroom by the news media.\n  (c) "News media" shall mean any news reporting or news gathering\nagency and any employee or agent associated with such agency, including\ntelevision, radio, radio and television networks, news services,\nnewspapers, magazines, trade papers, in-house publications, professional\njournals or any other news reporting or news gathering agency, the\nfunction of which is to inform the public, or some segment thereof.\n  (d) "Presiding trial judge" shall mean the justice or judge presiding\nover proceedings at which audio-visual coverage is authorized pursuant\nto this section.\n  (e) "Covert or undercover capacity" shall mean law enforcement\nactivity involving criminal investigation by peace or police officers\nwho usually and customarily wear no uniform, badge, or other official\nidentification in public view.\n  (f) "Arraignment" shall have the same meaning as such term is defined\nin subdivision nine of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law.\n  (g) "Suppression hearing" shall mean a hearing on a motion made\npursuant to the provisions of section 710.20 of the criminal procedure\nlaw; a hearing on a motion to determine the admissibility of any prior\ncriminal, vicious or immoral acts of a defendant and any other hearing\nheld to determine the admissibility of evidence.\n  (h) "Nonparty witness" shall mean any witness in a criminal trial\nproceeding who is not a party to such proceeding; except an expert or\nprofessional witness, a peace or police officer who acted in the course\nof his or her duties and was not acting in a covert or undercover\ncapacity in connection with the instant court proceeding, or any\ngovernment official acting in an official capacity, shall not be deemed\nto be a "nonparty witness".\n  (i) "Visually obscured" shall mean that the face of a participant in a\ncriminal trial proceeding shall either not be shown or shall be rendered\nvisually unrecognizable to the viewer of such proceeding by means of\nspecial editing by the news media.\n  3. Requests for coverage of proceedings; administrative review.\n  (a) Prior to the commencement of the proceedings, any news media\ninterested in providing audio-visual coverage of court proceedings shall\nfile a request with the presiding trial judge, if assigned, or if no\nassignment has been made, to the judge responsible for making such\nassignment. Requests for audio-visual coverage shall be made in writing\nand not less than seven days before the commencement of the judicial\nproceeding, and shall refer to the individual proceeding with sufficient\nidentification to assist the presiding trial judge in considering the\nrequest. Where circumstances are such that an applicant cannot\nreasonably apply seven or more days before the commencement of the\nproceeding, the presiding trial judge may shorten the time period for\nrequests.\n  (b) Permission for news media coverage shall be at the discretion of\nthe presiding trial judge. An order granting or denying a request for\naudio-visual coverage of a proceeding shall be in writing and shall be\nincluded in the record of such proceeding. Such order shall contain any\nrestrictions imposed by the judge on the audio-visual coverage and shall\ncontain a statement advising the parties that any violation of the order\nis punishable by contempt pursuant to article nineteen of this chapter.\nSuch order for initial access shall be subject only to review by the\nappropriate administrative judge; there shall be no further judicial\nreview of such order or determination during the pendency of such\nproceeding before such trial judge. No order allowing audio-visual\ncoverage of a proceeding shall be sealed.\n  (c) Subject to the provisions of subdivision seven of this section,\nupon a request for audio-visual coverage of court proceedings, the\npresiding trial judge shall, at a minimum, take into account the\nfollowing factors: (i) the type of case involved; (ii) whether such\ncoverage would cause harm to any participant in the case or otherwise\ninterfere with the fair administration of justice, the advancement of a\nfair trial or the rights of the parties; (iii) whether any order\ndirecting the exclusion of witnesses from the courtroom prior to their\ntestimony could be rendered substantially ineffective by allowing\naudio-visual coverage that could be viewed by such witnesses to the\ndetriment of any party; (iv) whether such coverage would interfere with\nany law enforcement activity; or (v) involve lewd or scandalous matters.\n  (d) A request for audio-visual coverage made after the commencement of\na trial proceeding in which a jury is sitting shall not be granted\nunless, (i) counsel for all parties to the proceeding consent to such\ncoverage, or (ii) the request is for coverage of the verdict and/or\nsentencing in such proceeding.\n  4. Supervision of audio-visual coverage; mandatory pretrial\nconference; judicial discretion.\n  (a) Audio-visual coverage of a court proceeding shall be subject to\nthe supervision of the presiding trial judge. In supervising\naudio-visual coverage of court proceedings, in particular any which\ninvolve lewd or scandalous matters, a presiding trial judge shall, where\nnecessary for the protection of any participant or to preserve the\nwelfare of a minor, prohibit all or any part of the audio-visual\ncoverage of such participant, minor or exhibit.\n  (b) A pretrial conference shall be held in each case in which\naudio-visual coverage of a proceeding has been approved. At such\nconference the presiding trial judge shall review, with counsel and the\nnews media who will participate in the audio-visual coverage, the\nrestrictions to be imposed. Counsel shall convey to the court any\nconcerns of prospective witnesses with respect to audio-visual coverage.\n  (c) There shall be no limitation on the exercise of discretion under\nthis subdivision except as provided by law. The presiding trial judge\nmay at any time modify or reverse any prior order or determination.\n  5. Consent. (a) Audio-visual coverage of judicial proceedings, except\nfor arraignments and suppression hearings, shall not be limited by the\nobjection of counsel, parties, or jurors, except for a finding by the\npresiding trial judge of good or legal cause.\n  (b) Audio-visual coverage of arraignments and suppression hearings\nshall be permitted only with the consent of all parties to the\nproceeding; provided, however, where a party is not yet represented by\ncounsel consent may not be given unless the party has been advised of\nhis or her right to the aid of counsel pursuant to subdivision four of\nsection 170.10 or 180.10 of the criminal procedure law and the party has\naffirmatively elected to proceed without counsel at such proceeding.\n  (c) Counsel to each party in a criminal trial proceeding shall advise\neach nonparty witness that he or she has the right to request that his\nor her image be visually obscured during said witness' testimony, and\nupon such request the presiding trial judge shall order the news media\nto visually obscure the visual image of the witness in any and all\naudio-visual coverage of the judicial proceeding.\n  6. Restrictions relating to equipment and personnel; sound and light\ncriteria. Where audio-visual coverage of court proceedings is authorized\npursuant to this section, the following restrictions shall be observed:\n  (a) Equipment and personnel:\n  (i) No more than two electronic or motion picture cameras and two\ncamera operators shall be permitted in any proceeding.\n  (ii) No more than one photographer to operate two still cameras with\nnot more than two lenses for each camera shall be permitted in any\nproceeding.\n  (iii) No more than one audio system for broadcast purposes shall be\npermitted in any proceeding. Audio pickup for all media purposes shall\nbe effectuated through existing audio systems in the court facility. If\nno technically suitable audio system is available, microphones and\nrelated wiring essential for media purposes shall be supplied by those\npersons providing audio-visual coverage. Any microphones and sound\nwiring shall be unobtrusive and located in places designated by the\npresiding trial judge.\n  (iv) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraphs (i), (ii) and\n(iii) of this paragraph, the presiding trial judge may modify his\noriginal order to increase or decrease the amount of equipment that will\nbe permitted into a courtroom on a finding of special circumstances so\nlong as it will not impair the dignity of the court or the judicial\nprocess.\n  (v) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraphs (i), (ii) and\n(iii) of this paragraph, the equipment authorized therein shall not be\nadmitted into a court proceeding unless all persons interested in\nproviding audio-visual coverage of such proceedings shall have entered\ninto pooling arrangements for their respective groups. Furthermore, a\npool operator for the electronic and motion picture media and a pool\noperator for the still photography media shall be selected, and\nprocedures for cost sharing and dissemination of audio-visual material\nestablished. The court shall not be called upon to mediate or resolve\nany dispute as to such arrangements. In making pooling arrangements,\nconsideration shall be given to educational users' needs for full\ncoverage of entire proceedings.\n  (b) Sound and light criteria:\n  (i) Only electronic and motion picture cameras, audio equipment and\nstill camera equipment which do not produce distracting sound or light\nshall be employed to cover judicial proceedings. The chief administrator\nof the courts shall promulgate a list of acceptable equipment models.\n  (ii) No motorized drives shall be permitted, and no moving lights,\nflash attachments, or sudden lighting changes shall be permitted during\njudicial proceedings.\n  (iii) No light or signal visible or audible to trial participants\nshall be used on any equipment during audio-visual coverage to indicate\nwhether it is operating.\n  (iv) It shall be the affirmative duty of any person desiring to use\nequipment other than that authorized by the chief administrator to\ndemonstrate to the presiding trial judge, adequately in advance of any\nproceeding, that the equipment sought to be utilized meets acceptable\nsound and light criteria. A failure to obtain advance judicial approval\nfor equipment shall preclude its use in any proceeding.\n  (v) With the concurrence of the presiding trial judge modifications\nand additions may be made to light sources existing in the facility,\nprovided such modification or additions are installed and maintained at\nthe expense of the news media who are providing audio-visual coverage\nand provided they are not distracting or otherwise offensive.\n  (c) Location of equipment and personnel. Cameras, equipment and\npersonnel shall be positioned in locations designated by the presiding\ntrial judge.\n  (i) All audio-visual coverage operators shall assume their assigned,\nfixed position within the designated area and once established in such\nposition, shall act in a manner so as not to call attention to their\nactivities.\n  (ii) The areas so designated shall provide reasonable access to\ncoverage with the least possible interference with court proceedings.\nEquipment that is not necessary for audio-visual coverage from inside\nthe courtroom shall be located in an area outside the courtroom.\n  (d) Movement of equipment during proceedings. Equipment shall not be\nplaced in, moved about or removed from the courtroom, and related\npersonnel shall not move about the courtroom, except prior to\ncommencement or after adjournment of proceedings each day, or during a\nrecess. Camera film and lenses shall be changed only during a recess in\nproceedings.\n  7. Restrictions on audio-visual coverage. Notwithstanding the initial\napproval of a request for audio-visual coverage of any court proceeding,\nthe presiding trial judge shall have discretion throughout the\nproceeding to revoke such approval or limit such coverage, and may where\nappropriate exercise such discretion to limit, restrict or prohibit\naudio or video broadcast or photography of any part of the proceeding in\nthe courtroom, or of the name or features of any participant therein. In\nany case, audio-visual coverage shall be limited as follows:\n  (a) no audio pickup or audio broadcast of conferences which occur in a\ncourt facility between attorneys and their clients, between co-counsel\nof a client, or between counsel and the presiding trial judge, shall be\npermitted without the prior express consent of all participants in the\nconference;\n  (b) no conference in chambers shall be subject to audio-visual\ncoverage;\n  (c) no audio-visual coverage of the selection of the prospective jury\nduring voir dire shall be permitted;\n  (d) no audio-visual coverage of the jury, or of any juror or alternate\njuror, while in the jury box, in the courtroom, in the jury deliberation\nroom during recess, or while going to or from the deliberation room at\nany time shall be permitted; provided, however, that, upon consent of\nthe foreperson of a jury, the presiding trial judge may, in his or her\ndiscretion, permit audio coverage of such foreperson delivering a\nverdict;\n  (e) no audio-visual coverage shall be permitted of a witness, who as a\npeace or police officer acted in a covert or undercover capacity in\nconnection with the instant court proceeding, without the prior written\nconsent of such witness;\n  (f) no audio-visual coverage shall be permitted of a witness, who as a\npeace or police officer is currently engaged in a covert or undercover\ncapacity, without the prior written consent of such witness;\n  (g) no audio-visual coverage shall be permitted of the victim in a\nprosecution for rape, criminal sexual act, sexual abuse or other sex\noffense under article one hundred thirty or section 255.25 of the penal\nlaw; notwithstanding the initial approval of a request for audio-visual\ncoverage of such a proceeding, the presiding trial judge shall have\ndiscretion throughout the proceeding to limit any coverage which would\nidentify the victim, except that said victim can request of the\npresiding trial judge that audio-visual coverage be permitted of his or\nher testimony, or in the alternative the victim can request that\ncoverage of his or her testimony be permitted but that his or her image\nshall be visually obscured by the news media, and the presiding trial\njudge in his or her discretion shall grant the request of the victim for\nthe coverage specified;\n  (h) no audio-visual coverage of any arraignment or suppression hearing\nshall be permitted without the prior consent of all parties to the\nproceeding; provided, however, where a party is not yet represented by\ncounsel consent may not be given unless the party has been advised of\nhis or her right to the aid of counsel pursuant to subdivision four of\nsection 170.10 or 180.10 of the criminal procedure law and the party has\naffirmatively elected to proceed without counsel at such proceeding;\n  (i) no judicial proceeding shall be scheduled, delayed, reenacted or\ncontinued at the request of, or for the convenience of the news media;\n  (j) no audio-visual coverage of any participant shall be permitted if\nthe presiding trial judge finds that such coverage is liable to endanger\nthe safety of any person;\n  (k) no audio-visual coverage of any judicial proceedings which are by\nlaw closed to the public, or which may be closed to the public and which\nhave been closed by the presiding trial judge shall be permitted; and\n  (l) no audio-visual coverage shall be permitted which focuses on or\nfeatures a family member of a victim or a party in the trial of a\ncriminal case, except while such family member is testifying.\nAudio-visual coverage operators shall make all reasonable efforts to\ndetermine the identity of such persons, so that such coverage shall not\noccur.\n  8. Violations. Any violation of an order or determination issued under\nthis section shall be punishable as a contempt pursuant to article\nnineteen of this chapter.\n  9. Review committee. (a) There shall be created a committee to review\naudio-visual coverage of court proceedings. The committee shall consist\nof twelve members, three to be appointed by the governor, three to be\nappointed by the chief judge of the courts, two to be appointed by the\nmajority leader of the senate, two to be appointed by the speaker of the\nassembly, one to be appointed by the minority leader of the senate and\none to be appointed by minority leader of the assembly. The chair of the\ncommittee shall be appointed by the chief judge of the courts. At least\none member of the committee and no more than two members of the\ncommittee shall be a representative of the broadcast media, be employed\nby the broadcast media, or receive compensation from the broadcast\nmedia. At least two members of the committee shall be members of the\nbar, engaged in the practice of law, and regularly conduct trials and/or\nappellate arguments; and at least one member of the committee shall by\nprofessional training and expertise be qualified to evaluate and analyze\nresearch methodology relevant to analyzing the impact and effect of\naudio-visual coverage of judicial proceedings. No one who has served on\nan earlier committee established by law to review audio-visual coverage\nof judicial proceedings in New York state may be appointed to such\ncommittee. No member or employee of the executive, legislative, or\njudicial branches of the state government may be appointed to such\ncommittee.\n  (b) The members of the committee shall serve without compensation for\ntheir services as members of the committee, except that each of the\nnonpublic members of the committee may be allowed the necessary and\nactual travel, meals and lodging expenses which he or she shall incur in\nthe performance of his or her duties under this section. Any expenses\nincurred pursuant to this section shall be a charge against the office\nof court administration.\n  (c) The committee shall have the power, duty and responsibility to\nevaluate, analyze, and monitor the provisions of this section. The\noffice of court administration and all participants in proceedings where\naudio-visual coverage was permitted, including judges, attorneys and\njurors, shall cooperate with the committee in connection with the review\nof the impact of audio-visual coverage on such proceedings. The\ncommittee shall request participation and assistance from the New York\nstate bar association and other bar associations. The committee shall\nissue a report to the legislature, the governor, and the chief judge\nevaluating the efficacy of the program and whether any public benefits\naccrue from the program, any abuses that occurred during the program,\nand the extent to which and in what way the conduct of participants in\ncourt proceedings changes when audio-visual coverage is present. The\ncommittee shall expressly and specifically analyze and evaluate the\ndegree of compliance by trial judges and the media with the provisions\nof this section and the effect of audio-visual coverage on the conduct\nof trial judges both inside and outside the courtroom. Such report shall\nbe submitted to the legislature, the governor and the chief judge by\nJanuary thirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-seven.\n  10. Rules and regulations. The chief administrator shall promulgate\nappropriate rules and regulations for the implementation of the\nprovisions of this section after affording all interested persons,\nagencies and institutions an opportunity to review and comment thereon.\nSuch rules and regulations shall include provisions to ensure that\naudio-visual coverage of trial proceedings shall not interfere with the\ndecorum and dignity of courtrooms and court facilities.\n  11. Duration. The provisions of this section shall be of no force and\neffect after June thirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-seven.\n  * NB Expired June 30, 1997\n