A Vanderburgh County judge is one of five in the state who will allow news cameras in their courtrooms as part of a statewide pilot, the Indiana Supreme Court announced Monday.
Per an order from the court, camera access will apply only to news media, who will be permitted to broadcast coverage of court proceedings as part of a four-month test beginning Dec. 1. The effort was organized by the Indiana Supreme Court, the Hoosier State Press Association and the Indiana Broadcasters Association.
Vanderburgh Superior Court Judge Leslie Shively is one of five judges participating across Indiana. Courts in Allen, Delaware, Lake and Tippecanoe counties are also taking part. News outlets must request the judges' permission to place video or still cameras in their courtrooms.
In addition, livestreams of proceedings in any court can be rebroadcast with the judge's permission.
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Currently, Rule 2.17 of the Indiana Judicial Code forbids "broadcasting, televising, recording, or taking photographs in the courtroom and areas immediately adjacent thereto during sessions of court."
Cameras will only be allowed at court hearings open to the public. Proceedings involving minors, undercover officers, sex crime victims, jury selection, contested adoptions and protection orders, among others, still prohibit cameras.
"It's important to have transparency in our justice system, as in all areas of government," Cindi Andrews, executive editor of the Evansville Courier & Press, said. "We applaud Judge Shively for volunteering to pilot this first step toward allowing cameras in courtrooms across Indiana."
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