Have you always wondered what the inside of a court looked like and how important cases were heard? Well, live broadcasting from the Court of Appeal is now on TV.
Launched from a control desk within the
court of appeal itself it is hoped that the televised appeals will increase
transparency and improve understanding of the UK court system. Currently only
civil or criminal appeals are broadcast - not appeals against conviction due to
the chance of a retrial.
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, Lord Chief Justice
of England and Wales has said that,
"We believe it will help assist
understanding of the way in which the courts work and enable the public to see
the way justice is delivered in an even more open and transparent manner than
at present."
How it works
Only one case will be filmed at a given time
despite many being heard, and this case will be chosen by four newsgatherers
and the permission giving judge. Due to a mobile set up the equipment can be
moved from any of the 15 courtrooms to another with ease.
The man in charge is video-journalist, Matt
Nicholls. He will control the cameras and decide which parts (if not all)
should be televised. The project is funded by four press giants to which
Nicholls must report: The BBC, Sky News, ITN and the Press Association. The PA
will provide the clips which will appear on newspaper websites.
So, when we say the broadcasts are live that
isn’t strictly true, but near enough. There will be a 70 second delay in the
airing so that any sensitive information can be omitted. These details could
include:
·
Swearing and other
profanities
·
Court order protected or
unreportable information
·
Images of individuals who
should not be shown such as the witness or appellant
One of the many reasons why video equipment
has not been allowed into court before includes its obtrusive nature but thanks
to a streamline design by Sky News the equipment is almost unnoticeable. Bespoke
and made to camouflage within its Victorian wood surroundings, the recording
equipment is placed on a tea-trolley like a piece of furniture while cameras
are placed on the surrounding bookshelves.
Another issue has been the rules on
photography in court. It has been an offence to take photographs of
participants in a court of England and Wales precinct since 1925. Although
technically security cameras break this law. With these new television
broadcasts a wide shot of the courtroom will be used as well as shots of the
lawyer or judge who is speaking at the time. However any witness testimonials
will be reported without showing their faces in order to maintain anonymity.
Of course these rules only apply in England
and Wales, whilst Scotland have been televising criminal cases for nearly two
decades.
The future of televised courts
Televised court cases were first recommended
nearly 25 years ago by a committee of barristers chaired by Jonathon Caplan QC.
However after the highly publicised murder case of OJ Simpson across the pond
in America in 1994 which was broadcast worldwide, the recommendation was
postponed.
Now a quarter of a century later the
suggestion has materialised again and if successful may extend to broadcasting
sentencing remarks following trials in the Crown Court.
TV companies would love to get into the
Crown Court as with high profile cases comes the chance of salacious or
sensational stories. It would make great TV with a real sense of drama. We must
remember however that this isn’t done for good viewing TV but rather to give
insight into a real life process.
This televised version would be edited and
key moments would be publicised possibly creating a ‘distortion of reality’. TV
companies often want the most celebrity-ridden or action packed cases and
therefore a chosen selection of pieces may make a case seem more extreme than
it is.
