Y. David Scharf, Hon. David Saxe and Joseph Kamelhar Argue in Favor of Permitting Cameras in the Courtroom in New York in NYLJ

Chair and Co-Managing Partner Y. David Scharf, Partner Hon. David Saxe and Associate Joseph Kamelhar co-authored an article in New York Law Journal entitled “Cameras in New York State Courtrooms: A Short Update.” The authors discussed their belief that New York should join the majority of jurisdictions that permit cameras in the courtroom.

They explained that New York’s ban on televising court proceedings dates back to 1952, when the New York Legislature enacted Civil Rights Law §52. Recently, for the second year in a row, the New York Senate approved a bill that would repeal the Civil Rights Law. The bill will now proceed to the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

The authors presented pros and cons of allowing cameras in the courtroom. Among the pros: educating a large population on the working of the judicial system; ensuring that judges are held accountable for their courtroom conduct; increasing the overall transparency of the judicial system; and generating a better understanding and trust for the judiciary system.

According to those who are against the bill, the cons include: cameras in the courtroom could disrupt proceedings and imperil the safety and decorum of the courtroom and of participants in the judicial process; witnesses might be increasingly fearful and their testimony affected; jurors might not concentrate on the actual trial proceedings, instead becoming concerned that they are being televised.

In conclusion, the authors wrote, “In our opinion, the factors favoring legislative change are overwhelming. The public will benefit by being introduced [through] an audio-visual connection to an institution that plays an important part in their everyday lives but has mostly been inaccessible to them.”

Subscribers, read the New York Law Journal article here.