Television courtroom broadcasting remains controversial...
Eye tracking technology could transform courtroom broadcasting, says Paul Lambert
Television courtroom broadcasting remains controversial. There have been attempts to expand it to federal courts and indeed the US Supreme Court. An initial federal pilot programme was discontinued in 1994, partly because only brief snippets were used on television. There are already calls in the UK for the expansion of the camera experiment in the new Supreme Court to other courts.
Effects
Yet, what do we know about the effects of such broadcasting? Still relatively little. The US Supreme Court challenge for a sustained body of empirical effects research has not been properly addressed. This challenge occurred in the seminal cases of Estes, Chandler and more recently this year in Hollingsworth.
The recent announcement by Judge Sentelle that the US federal courts are planning a second experimental period is fortuitous. If properly planned, it will allow for sustained empirical research to begin addressing the US Supreme Court challenge. Admittedly, while there have been studies, the vast majority are inadequate as they are ill planned, leave unrecorded data
