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With high-profile trials come calls for courtroom cameras

FILE--In this March 4, 2015 file photo, members of the media wait outside federal court in Boston on the first day of the federal death penalty trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The crimes terrorized Boston, but with cameras banned from the federal courts, ordinary Bostonians have been denied the chance to see for themselves the 2013 trial of convicted mobster Whitey Bulger and ongoing trial of admitted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
FILE--In this March 4, 2015 file photo, members of the media wait outside federal court in Boston on the first day of the federal death penalty trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The crimes terrorized Boston, but with cameras banned from the federal courts, ordinary Bostonians have been denied the chance to see for themselves the 2013 trial of convicted mobster Whitey Bulger and ongoing trial of admitted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

By Associated Press 3 min read

BOSTON (AP) – Boston has seen its share of headline-grabbing federal trials, from the 2013 conviction of notorious gangster James “Whitey” Bulger to the ongoing prosecution of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. There’s just one hitch. With cameras banned in the courtrooms, Boston residents haven’t actually seen either trial, instead having to rely on the drawings of courtroom artists or descriptions by reporters.

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Q: Why ban cameras in courtrooms?

A: Those who favor banning cameras point to a number of reasons – from protecting the privacy of witnesses and jurors to safeguarding the integrity of the judicial system. Opponents also worry that allowing the recording and broadcasting of images from inside courtrooms could turn trials into public spectacles. Perhaps the most notorious was the 1995 trial of O.J. Simpson for the murders ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman, which turned lawyers, witnesses and the presiding judge into TV and tabloid celebrities.

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