Some Reflections on Cameras in the Appellate Courtroom
![handle is hein.journals/jappp9 and id is 329 raw text is: SOME REFLECTIONS ON CAMERAS IN THE
APPELLATE COURTROOM
Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain*
I. INTRODUCTION
In the last issue of the Journal of Appellate Practice and
Process, Justice Robert Brown of the Supreme Court of
Arkansas discussed the various ways in which state high courts
around the country are beginning to embrace technology to
record and to broadcast their oral arguments.' I plan to pick up
where Justice Brown left off, by discussing my personal
experience with cameras in the appellate courtroom as an active
Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit. In the course of this article, I hope to articulate
what I will call a cautious approach to the recording and
broadcasting of appellate arguments. In adopting and
articulating such an approach, I hope to explore not only the
positive consequences that such broadcasting efforts can have,
but also the extent to which the oft-expressed concerns raised
about such broadcasting efforts ought to be considered in any
given case. And, although my experience with the videotaping
of oral arguments has generally been positive, I hope to show
that such a cautious approach is preferable in that it recognizes
the integrity and independence of each court to move forward
*United States Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
The genesis of this article lies in my testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in
November 2005. See Sen. Jud. Comm., Cameras in the Courtroom, 109th Cong. (Nov. 9,
2005) (testimony of Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain, J., U.S. Ct. of App. for the 9th Cir.)
[hereinafter Senate Testimony]. As I noted there, the views expressed herein are my
personal thoughts and do not necessarily reflect the views of other members of my Court or
of the Court itself.
1. Robert L. Brown, Just a Matter of Time? Video Cameras at the United States
Supreme Court and the State Supreme Courts, 9 J. App. Prac. & Process 1 (2007).
THE JOURNAL OF APPELLATE PRACTICE AND PROCESS Vol. 9, No. 2 (Fall 2007)](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/jappp9&div=22&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Some Reflections on Cameras in the Appellate Courtroom
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