The Camera's Day in Court

Should newspaper photographers be allowed to take pictures in courtrooms? Eighteen years ago the American Bar Association answered with a firm no. adopted Canon 35, banning cameras from courts. Fourteen states followed suit by officially making Canon 35 a part of their law; it was approved by the bar associations of close to a dozen other states. Frequent court decisions have upheld a judge's right to bar photographers from his court. Last month the U.S. Supreme Court refused even to hear an appeal from the Cleveland Press, whose photographers had been held in contempt for taking courtroom pictures (TIME. May 30). But last week, at a Colorado Springs meeting of the National Press Photographers Association, U.S. Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr. struck a powerful blow against the ban.

Photographers, said Brownell, should be given "their day in court." Although trial judges have a right to bar photographers. Brownell urged that the decision be left up to individual judges rather than bar associations or state laws. One big reason to ease the ban, said Brownell, is that modern photographic methods eliminate much of the noise and disturbance that once upset court routine. To help solve the problem, Brownell announced he was recommending to the American Bar Association that it re-examine Canon 35, with a view toward admitting more photographers to court proceedings. Said the Attorney General: "Courts are constantly faced with [reconciling] freedom of the press with the . . . impartial administration of justice, [and] neither is more important than the other. [Modern] press photography can . . . protect the interests of justice for all concerned."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.