Judge Ito, the prosecutors, they all work for us. They are exercising our power. We have a right to see what's going on. Broadcasters argue that televising the Simpson trial is more than just a chance to watch the ex-football star's life up close. Entertainment Television, steady viewers learned in depth about everything from basic court procedures to the use ofdeoxyribonucleic acid as evidence.
Full coverage allows people to make up their own minds.
Cameras' defenders note that many shuttered trials during the last 75 years also generated intense media interest. Longtime court observers recall that,in the 1970s, California's infamous Hillside Strangler case took 23 months, and the Charles Manson trial took nine months. The Times' Liptak points to numerous surveys and studies that, in most cases, support the assertion that cameras do not affect proceedings. People quickly get used to the cameras and stop paying attention to them. Those experiences, however, are not the same.