Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-352
Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Introduced: 2007-01-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Administration of justice
Appellate courts
Arts, Culture, Religion
Civil procedure
Court reporting
Crime and Law Enforcement
Criminal procedure
District courts
Due process of law
Government Operations and Politics
Judges
Juries
Photography
Radio broadcasting
Science, Technology, Communications
Sound recording and reproducing
Supreme Court
Television broadcasting
Video tape recording
Witnesses

Summary:
action_date: 2007-01-22
text: 
Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2007 - Authorizes the presiding judge of a U.S. appellate court or U.S. district court to permit the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising to the public of court proceedings over which that judge presides except when such action would constitute a violation of the due process rights of any party.
 
Directs: (1) a district court, upon the request of any witness in a trial proceeding other than a party, to order the face and voice of the witness to be disguised or otherwise obscured to render the witness unrecognizable to the broadcast audience of the trial proceeding; and (2) the presiding judge in a trial proceeding to inform each witness who is not a party of the right to make such request. 
 
Authorizes the Judicial Conference of the United States to promulgate advisory guidelines to which a presiding judge may refer in making decisions regarding the management and administration of photographing, recording, broadcasting, or televising described in this Act.

action_date: 2008-03-13
text: 
Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2008 - Authorizes the presiding judge of a U.S. appellate court or U.S. district court to permit the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising to the public of court proceedings over which that judge presides except when such action would constitute a violation of the due process rights of any party.

Directs: (1) a district court, upon the request of any witness in a trial proceeding other than a party, to order the face and voice of the witness to be disguised or otherwise obscured to render the witness unrecognizable to the broadcast audience of the trial proceeding; and (2) the presiding judge in a trial proceeding to inform each witness who is not a party of the right to make such request. 

Prohibits the presiding judge from permitting the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising of any juror in a trial proceeding, or of the jury selection process. 
 
Gives the presiding judge the discretion to obscure the face and voice of an individual under certain conditions if good cause can be shown that the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising of the individual would threaten the individual's safety.
 
Prohibits any interlocutory appeal of the decision of the presiding judge of whether or not to permit, deny, or terminate the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising of a court proceeding.
 
Directs the Judicial Conference of the United States to promulgate advisory guidelines to which a presiding judge is required to refer in making decisions regarding the management and administration of photographing, recording, broadcasting, or televising described in this Act.
 
Prohibits any audio pickup or broadcast of conferences in a court proceeding between attorneys and their clients, between co-counsel of a client, between adverse counsel, or between counsel and the presiding judge, if the conferences are not part of the official record of the proceedings. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-03-13
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 618.
action_date: 2008-03-13
text: Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Leahy with amendments. Without written report.
action_date: 2008-03-13
text: Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Leahy with amendments. Without written report.
action_date: 2008-03-06
text: Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
action_date: 2007-02-14
text: Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held.
action_date: 2007-01-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S837)
action_date: 2007-01-22
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S837)
action_date: 2007-01-22
text: Introduced in Senate