Are American court trial clips real?

20 comments

1. >İsn’t it against the privacy laws or something

   Litigation is a public forum. Granted, not all courts welcome being a public spectacle. If you want to handle a dispute privately, you go to mediation

2. No, courts are public. Some allow video cameras, others do not.

3. They are real. And no. There is a presumption of public/press access to trials under the First Amendment. Whether that takes place via video, audio, or simply in-person access is generally up to courts.

4. Yes. They are real. Some courts and some judges do not allow filming.

   In my opinion, its more important that trials be public than private. I would rather err on the side of public.

5. Yes they are real. The judge can order cameras off for whatever reason but for the most part they are not against privacy laws.

   How much is available to anyone varies from state to state or even by county. But if you have any dealing with the government it can result in a public record that anyone can search.

   This includes the court records, video or other documents. Personally I do think it can be embarrassing for an individual but overall it is better for transparency in government.

6. What privacy laws? Most court proceedings are public, on purpose. Transparency matters.

7. Court proceedings are open to the public precisely because we want people to see that the laws are being executed honestly and correctly. If I’m on trial, I want public oversight so that it has to be fair, not a secret tribunal where my rights can be violated with impunity.

8. A public trial is a fundamental feature of our (and any half decent) justice system.

9. Very few court proceedings in the US are closed, everything else is public and of public record. Most closed proceedings deal with juvenile matters – delinquent and deprived, not custody – and mental health.

   However, I’ve worked in a US courtroom for 27+ years and none of the judges I’ve worked for have allowed cameras in the courtroom. In those cases where there is media interest, the reporter is allowed to be present in the courtroom and the cameras wait outside for their shots of the parties, etc.

10. Yes, they are real. At the state level, whether legal proceedings can be recorded and broadcast depends on the laws of that state. At the federal level, courts do not allow the broadcast of trials at this time. But even in courts where the proceedings cannot be recorded and broadcast, the public is able to go sit in the audience and watch. Our trials are public for the sake of transparency.

11. no it’s all crisis actors

12. The U.S. doesn’t have much in the way of privacy laws. The Supreme Court even recently ruled that there is no guaranteed right to privacy.

13. Why would it be against privacy laws?

14. Some courts and cases are public and some are not.

15. https://youtu.be/7vN_PEmeKb0

    They are.

    Almost all cases are public record even if they are just text transcriptions and not video.

    Some states record things on video and that can become public depending on state laws.

    Almost all court proceedings are public and you can show up and take notes, transcription, make drawings. Some states allow videoing and photographing as well.

16. Yes, the clips are real.

    Public trials are a good thing. Secret courts are not.

17. They’re public trials.

18. They’re public trials.

19. Yes they’re real.

    How else would the general population know whether someone received a fair trial?

20. It is exactly the opposite with trials.

    The Sixth Amendment:

    > In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

    All criminal trials must be public, else unconstitutional.