ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the rights of criminal defendants, parties to civil litigation face many of the same issues. Regardless of the lack of research evidence establishing that media coverage of criminal cases influences jurors, courts try to protect defendants against prejudicial publicity. Federal policy on camera coverage of civil trials is complex, reflecting the federal judiciary’s deep ambivalence on the question. In essence, local courts may adopt rules authorizing camera coverage, although the Judicial Conference, the policymaking body for the federal courts, prefers that there be no camera coverage of civil trials. The Supreme Court reversed, stating there “is no special perquisite of the judiciary which enables it, as distinguished from other institutions of democratic government, to suppress, edit, or censor events which transpire in proceedings before it.” Bridges, Pennekamp and Harney made it clear that the Supreme Court expects judges to have thick skins and that the criticism of judges should not lead to contempt of court charges.
