Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021
Is it a cover-up that Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial isn’t on TV?
Some people on social media see a suspicious difference between the way Kyle Rittenhouse's and Ghislaine Maxwell's trials are being treated:
His trial in Wisconsin state court on homicide charges featured television cameras and live-streaming.
Her trial in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on sex trafficking charges has only a courtroom artist.
This is not due to a cover-up, but the fact that the courts have different policies governing electronic media.
Wisconsin's rule on Equipment and Personnel authorizes television cameras "in any court proceeding," at the trial judge's discretion.
In contrast, Southern New York's rule bans everyone but court officials engaged in court conduct from bringing "any camera, transmitter, receiver, recording device, cellular telephone, computer or other electronic device into any courthouse." The chief judge may authorize an exception, but it's never been done.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- US Courts History of Cameras in Courts
- Wisconsin Court System Rules governing electronic media and still photography coverage of judicial proceedings
- United States District Court Southern District of New York Local Rules of the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
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