Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is the author of “Cameras Might Alter Courtroom Behavior: Maybe That’s the Point” published in the American Bar Association magazine Litigation on May 6.

In the article, LoMonte traces the history of the public’s right of access to the courts, examines how cameras gradually gained acceptance in state courts and how federal courts continue to resist them, and makes the case that public trust in the legitimacy of the judicial process would be strengthened by admitting cameras at all levels, including the Supreme Court.

According to LoMonte, “If nothing else brings our courts fully into the 21st century of technology, COVID-19 may force the issue. The global pandemic is causing every organization to rethink how it does business. Courts are not immune to the novel coronavirus, and they should not be immune from modernization to adapt to a ‘new normal.’ All institutions are reassessing how much of their business must be transacted in person. As the pandemic gripped the United States beginning in mid-March 2020, business and government institutions, including the legal system, proved remarkably adaptable to remote delivery of services, including everything from Supreme Court oral arguments via teleconference to long-distance document notarization.”

He adds, “The ability to exercise the fundamental right to view judicial proceedings should be no different. Enabling the public to watch court cases unfold from the safety of home will be a boon to the elderly, the immunocompromised, or those with mobility or transportation challenges. Members of the press and public should not have to gamble their health, and that of vulnerable people in their households, to watch hearings that can easily be telecast.”

Posted: May 12, 2021
Category: Brechner Center, College News
Tagged as: Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, Frank LoMonte