Will Federal Challenge to Same-Sex Marriage Ban Be on TV? Maybe
An experimental program adopted Thursday by the judicial council for the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will allow televised civil bench trials, on a case-by-case basis.
The chief judges of each of the circuit’s 15 districts will decide which cases may be recorded or broadcast, in consultation with 9th Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, according to the Los Angeles Times and the Recorder.
The Recorder points out that a high-profile challenge to California’s same-sex marriage ban is scheduled to go to trial just weeks from now in San Francisco. Vaughn Walker, the chief judge for the Northern District of California, is presiding.
Walker raised the idea of televised proceedings several weeks ago. Lawyers representing plaintiffs challenging the marriage ban support the idea, but lawyers for the defendants oppose it.
The 9th Circuit and the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals already permit televised appellate arguments, and a private vendor has taped some district court proceedings in New York, the Recorder says. The U.S. Judicial Conference opposes televised proceedings and has urged each circuit to ban cameras.
