I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 594

To amend title 28, United States Code, with respect to photographing,

recording, and broadcasting court proceedings.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 19, 1995

Mr. SCHUMER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend title 28, United States Code, with respect to

photographing, recording, and broadcasting court proceedings.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 The Congress finds that—

5 (1) the right to public trials and other court

6 proceedings is protected by the First and Sixth

7 Amendments to the Constitution;

8 (2) while members of the public once commonly

9 attended trials in person, today they must rely on
2

•HR 594 IH

1 the print and electronic media to learn about court

2 proceedings;

3 (3) Americans’ understanding of the courts and

4 their important work, as well as respect for the judi5 cial system, is enhanced when photographic and elec6 tronic media coverage is permitted;

7 (4) while 47 States now allow photographic and

8 electronic media coverage of some or all of their

9 courts, Federal courts have been entirely closed to

10 such coverage, aside from a limited experimental

11 program;

12 (5) the presence of cameras and microphones in

13 the courtroom does not deny litigants due process of

14 law, or interfere with the fundamental fairness of

15 the trial, as the Supreme Court recognized more

16 than a decade ago in Chandler v. Florida; and

17 (6) photographic and electronic media coverage

18 of the courts does not, when appropriately regulated,

19 either disrupt the proceedings or undermine the fair

20 administration of justice.

21 SEC. 2. MEDIA COVERAGE OF COURT PROCEEDINGS.

22 Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is

23 amended by adding at the end the following new section:

24 ‘‘§ 1659. Media coverage of court proceedings

25 ‘‘(a) MEDIA COVERAGE.—
3

•HR 594 IH

1 ‘‘(1) IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS.—The Judicial

2 Conference shall, within 1 year after the effective

3 date of this section, authorize an experimental pro4 gram in which the presiding judge of a court of the

5 United States may, in his or her discretion, and sub6 ject to the provisions of this section, permit photo7 graphic or electronic media coverage of criminal

8 court proceedings, including trials. At least 15 Fed9 eral judicial districts shall participate in the experi10 mental program.

11 ‘‘(2) IN CIVIL PROCEEDINGS.—Any presiding

12 judge of a court of the United States may, in his or

13 her discretion, and subject to the provisions of this

14 section, permit photographic or electronic media cov15 erage of civil court proceedings, including trials.

16 ‘‘(3) GENERAL LIMITATIONS.—The court may

17 in any case refuse, limit, or terminate photographic

18 or electronic media coverage in the interests of jus19 tice to protect the rights of the parties and the dig20 nity of the court, or to assure the fair administra21 tion of justice. No changes in the scheduling, form,

22 or procedure of any court proceeding may be made,

23 by virtue of this section, for the benefit of the media

24 in providing photographic or electronic media cov25 erage under this section.
4

•HR 594 IH

1 ‘‘(b) PERMISSION TO USE MEDIA COVERAGE.—

2 ‘‘(1) REQUESTS FOR PERMISSION.—A request

3 for permission to use photographic or electronic

4 media coverage of a court proceeding under this sec5 tion shall be made on a form approved by the Judi6 cial Conference that is filed within a reasonable time

7 before the portion of the proceeding for which media

8 coverage is requested. The clerk of the court shall

9 promptly notify the parties to the proceeding of the

10 request.

11 ‘‘(2) ACTION OF THE COURT ON REQUESTS.—

12 A decision of the court granting or denying a re13 quest for photographic or electronic media coverage

14 shall be in writing and shall be included in the

15 record of the court proceedings. A decision to permit

16 such coverage shall contain any restrictions imposed

17 by the judge on the photographic or electronic media

18 coverage and shall contain a statement advising the

19 parties that any violation of the rules of the court

20 with respect to such permission may be punished by

21 the court as a contempt thereof. A decision of the

22 court under this paragraph to grant or deny a re23 quest for photographic or electronic media coverage

24 may be set aside on review only if it is found to be

25 an abuse of discretion.
5

•HR 594 IH

1 ‘‘(3) PRETRIAL CONFERENCE.—A pretrial con2 ference shall be held in each case in which photo3 graphic or electronic media coverage of a proceeding

4 has been approved. At such conference, the presiding

5 judge shall review with counsel and the media who

6 will participate in the photographic or electronic

7 media coverage the restrictions to be imposed on

8 such coverage. Counsel shall convey to the court any

9 concerns of prospective witnesses with respect to the

10 photographic or electronic media coverage.

11 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITED COVERAGE.—

12 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITIONS.—Proceedings held in

13 chambers, proceedings closed to the public, and jury

14 selection shall not be photographed, recorded, or

15 broadcast under this section. The testimony of police

16 informants, minors, undercover agents, and in cases

17 involving sex offenses, the victim and family of the

18 victim, shall not be photographed, recorded, or

19 broadcast under this section. Conferences between

20 an attorney and a client, witness, or aide, between

21 attorneys, or between counsel and the court at the

22 bench shall not be recorded or received by sound

23 equipment. Closeup photography of jurors is prohib24 ited.
6

•HR 594 IH

1 ‘‘(2) ARRAIGNMENTS AND SUPPRESSION HEAR2 INGS.—Photographic or electronic media coverage of

3 arraignments and suppression hearings shall not be

4 permitted unless the proceedings are open to the

5 public.

6 ‘‘(3) WITNESSES AT CRIMINAL TRIALS.—Upon

7 the request of a witness in any criminal proceeding

8 for which photographic or electronic media coverage

9 is permitted under this section, the presiding judge

10 may, for good cause shown based on the cir11 cumstances of that witness, order that the visual

12 image of the witness be obscured.

13 ‘‘(d) EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL.—The court may

14 require media personnel to demonstrate that equipment

15 proposed to be used for photographic or electronic media

16 coverage under this section complies with this section. The

17 court may specify the placement of media personnel and

18 equipment to permit reasonable coverage without disrup19 tion of the proceedings. Unless the court in its discretion

20 orders otherwise, the following applies:

21 ‘‘(1) Only 2 television cameras and 2 still pho22 tographers, with not more than 4 cameras and 6

23 lenses, are permitted.
7

•HR 594 IH

1 ‘‘(2) Equipment shall not produce distracting

2 sound or light. Signal lights or devices indicating

3 when equipment is operating shall not be visible.

4 ‘‘(3) If the court permits existing courtroom

5 sound and lighting systems to be modified, the modi6 fications shall be installed, maintained, and removed

7 without cost to the Federal Government. Micro8 phones and wiring shall be unobtrusively located in

9 places approved by the court and shall be operated

10 by 1 person.

11 ‘‘(4) Operators shall not move equipment or

12 enter or leave the courtroom while the court is in

13 session, or otherwise cause a distraction.

14 ‘‘(5) Equipment or clothing shall not bear the

15 insignia or marking of a media agency.

16 ‘‘(e) POOLING.—If media agencies are unable to

17 agree on arrangements for pooled coverage of a proceed18 ing, the court shall deny photographic and electronic

19 media coverage of the proceeding under this section.

20 ‘‘(f) OTHER PHOTOGRAPHING, RECORDING, OR

21 BROADCASTING.—Any photographing, recording, or

22 broadcasting of court proceedings, other than that per23 mitted under this section, is prohibited unless specifically

24 authorized by the court, except that the court may not

25 waive any provision of subsection (c).
8

•HR 594 IH

1 ‘‘(g) REVIEW COMMITTEE.—

2 ‘‘(1) CREATION.—There shall be created a com3 mittee to evaluate whether photographic or elec4 tronic media coverage of criminal court proceedings

5 should be permitted after June 30, 1998, or whether

6 such coverage so disrupts or interferes with the fair7 ness of criminal court proceedings as to justify its

8 prohibition.

9 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The committee shall con10 sist of 16 members, 4 to be appointed by the Judi11 cial Conference, 4 to be appointed by the Attorney

12 General of the United States, 2 to be appointed by

13 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 2 to

14 be appointed by the minority leader of the House of

15 Representatives, 2 to be appointed by the majority

16 leader of the Senate, and 2 to be appointed by the

17 minority leader of the Senate. The chair of the com18 mittee shall be appointed by the Judicial Conference.

19 At least 1 member of the committee appointed by

20 the Attorney General shall be a representative of the

21 electronic news media, and at least 1 member of the

22 committee appointed by the Judicial Conference

23 shall be a trial judge who has had experience with

24 photographic or electronic media coverage of court

25 proceedings.
9

•HR 594 IH

1 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The committee shall evaluate,

2 analyze, and monitor the effect of media coverage of

3 criminal court proceedings on the administration of

4 justice. The Federal Judicial Center shall cooperate

5 with the committee in connection with the review of

6 the impact of photographic or electronic media cov7 erage on criminal court proceedings. The committee

8 may request participation and assistance from bar

9 associations in carrying out its functions.

10 ‘‘(4) COMPENSATION.—The members of the

11 committee shall serve without compensation for their

12 services as members of the committee, except that

13 each member of the committee who is not an officer

14 or employee of the Federal Government may be al15 lowed necessary and actual expenses incurred in the

16 performance of his or her duties under this sub17 section. Such expenses shall be paid by the Adminis18 trative Office of the United States Courts.

19 ‘‘(5) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The committee

20 shall make recommendations to the Congress and to

21 the Judicial Conference with respect to the efficacy

22 of the experimental program authorized by sub23 section (a)(1), the effects of the program on the ad24 ministration of justice, and whether the program
10

•HR 594 IH

1 should be continued. Such recommendations shall be

2 submitted not later than January 31, 1998.

3 ‘‘(h) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The Judicial Con4 ference shall promulgate appropriate rules to carry out

5 this section after affording all interested persons, agen6 cies, and institutions an opportunity to review and com7 ment thereon. Such rules shall include provisions to ensure

8 that the photographic or electronic media coverage of

9 court proceedings does not interfere with the decorum and

10 dignity of courtrooms and court facilities.

11 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

12 ‘‘(1) the term ‘photographic or electronic media

13 coverage’ means any recording or broadcasting of

14 court proceedings by the media using television,

15 radio, photographic, or recording equipment; and

16 ‘‘(2) the term ‘media’ or ‘media agency’ means

17 any person or organization engaging in news gather18 ing or reporting and includes any newspaper, radio

19 or television station or network, news service, maga20 zine, trade paper, in-house publication, professional

21 journal, or other news reporting or news gathering

22 agency.

23 ‘‘(j) TERMINATION OR EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.—
11

•HR 594 IH

1 ‘‘(1) TERMINATION.—Subject to paragraph (2),

2 the experimental program authorized by subsection

3 (a)(1) shall terminate on June 30, 1998.

4 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION BY JUDICIAL CONFERENCE.—

5 Paragraph (1) does not apply if the Judicial Con6 ference extends the program authorized by sub7 section (a)(1) and so notifies the Congress in writing

8 before June 30, 1998. Such extension may apply to

9 criminal proceedings in all judicial districts (subject

10 to subsection (c)) and may apply until such time as

11 the Judicial Conference provides otherwise.

12 ‘‘(k) INAPPLICABILITY OF RULE 53 OF THE RULES

13 OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE.—Rule 53 of the Federal Rules

14 of Criminal Procedure does not apply during the period

15 the program authorized by subsection (a)(1) (including

16 any extension under subsection (j)(2)) is in effect.

17 ‘‘(l) INDEPENDENT ACTION BY JUDICIAL CON18 FERENCE.—Nothing in this section precludes the Judicial

19 Conference from authorizing photographic and electronic

20 media coverage of criminal proceedings before the pro21 gram authorized by subsection (a)(1) terminates.’’.

22 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

23 The table of sections for chapter III of title 28,

24 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

25 following:

‘‘1659. Media coverage of court proceedings.’’.
12

•HR 594 IH

1 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 This Act and the amendments made by this Act take

3 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

Æ