Television in courts in United Kingdom

“Provisions are contained in the Crime and Courts Bill that is currently being considered by Parliament which would allow the Lord Chancellor to make regulations permitting television cameras into court rooms. It is expected that these regulations will permit broadcasting of the opening and closing legal arguments and judgements in the Court of Appeal. This may later be extended to judges’ sentencing remarks at the Crown Court. Victims, witnesses, offenders and jurors will not be filmed. The trial itself will not be broadcast, partly because if only select extracts were screened (such as the prosecution case) from a lengthy trial there is a risk that the viewer could get a very one-sided view of the case. The Government is anxious that the reporting must not give offenders opportunities for theatrical public display.

The trial of Anders Breivik for the mass murder of 77 people in Norway showed some of the pitfalls of televising criminal court cases. When the defendant’s handcuffs were removed he did a clenched fist salute (an implicitly political statement that he was involved in a popular struggle). Television broadcasting was temporarily stopped as a result which was unfortunate when one of his arguments was that there was no freedom of expression in Norway.”

Sources: English Legal System (Elliot)

See Also

Public Opinion
Public Pressures
Expert Witnesses
Broadcasting Courts (2004)
Criminal trial procedure
List of Courts