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The Impact of Cameras in Fla. Courtrooms
Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Peggy Quince shares her thoughts.
 Photojournalists document oral arguments at the Florida Supreme Court in 2005 regarding proposed changes to rules governing when cameras should be allowed in courtrooms. [Photo: AP Photo/Phil Coale] |
In January 1935, the nation’s media poured into Flemington, N.J., to cover the trial of Bruno Hauptmann, the man accused of kidnapping and murdering Charles Lindbergh’s baby. The so-called “trial of the century” created such a frenzy that the American Bar Association proposed that cameras no longer be allowed in courtrooms —?a recommendation that, by 1937, became law through much of the country. It took the Florida Supreme Court more than 40 years to allow cameras back in the courtroom and lead the way for other states to do the same.
To help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the court’s 1979 ruling, Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Peggy Quince spoke to Florida Trend about the impact that cameras have had on some notable cases, from the 2000 contested presidential election to the 2007 hearing to decide who would get custody of Anna Nicole Smith’s body. The Smith case featured Broward County Circuit Court Judge Larry Seidlin, whom some observers accused of “playing to the cameras” and stoking the hearing’s circuslike atmosphere. Quince’s take on:
» Impact of Cameras in the Courtroom: “The impact has been very positive. The great advantage is that cameras enhance what the Constitution says and that is that a trial should be open to the public. It’s democracy at work, really.”
 [Photo: AP Photo/Steve Cannon] |
» Bush v. Gore: “Everybody in the world was interested in what was going to happen when there was a contested election in the United States — and they got an opportunity to see what happens, that we all believe in the rule of law, that while there were hundreds of media trucks outside, there were no tanks outside. You could never truly explain to them what was going on, but they had an opportunity to see it for themselves. So, I think that those kind of opportunities are just really phenomenal.”
» Anna Nicole Smith Case: “There haven’t been really many (negative examples). I think we can look back maybe on the Anna Nicole Smith case that we had down in the southern part of the state. There may have been some antics in that particular case, but even in that instance, if justices are doing things that the judiciary itself or even the public believes is improper, then why not see that, too? And then you have an opportunity to say, ‘Hey, this isn’t right. This isn’t the way a judge should conduct himself or herself.’”
» Beyond Cameras: “We are right now looking at getting all of our cases and filings on the web. To some extent, we’ve already started down that road, but I think in years to come, that is certainly going to increase, and we’re going to see fewer and fewer pieces of paper. Technologies over the last few years have increased so much that I can’t even imagine what might be in store for us in the future.”
