THE D.C. BENCH BAR MEDIA DIALOGUE PROJECT] July 28, 2011
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Council for Court Excellence The D.C. Bench Bar Media Dialogue Project Final Report to the State Justice Institute This document,was developed under grant number SJI-09-E-163 from the State Justice Institute. The points of view expressed are those of the Council for Court Excellence and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the State Justice Institute. July 28 , 2011 [THE D.C. BENCH BAR MEDIA DIALOGUE PROJECT] July 28, 2011 Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………2 Project overview and goals……………………………………………………………………….2 Programs………………………………………………………………………………………….2 Findings Program findings………………………………………………………………………….4 Committee organization findings…………………………………………………………5 Project committee…………………………………………………………………………………7 Appendix Invitation: Sharing Perspectives…………………………………………………………..8 Invitation: Press on Trial: The Libby Case………………………………………………..9 Flyer: Confidentiality vs. Open Access in DC Juvenile Cases…………………………..10 Flyer: Social Networks, Computer Technology and the Courts…………………………11 Council for Court Excellence Page 1 [THE D.C. BENCH BAR MEDIA DIALOGUE PROJECT] July 28, 2011 Introduction This report summarizes the experiences and findings of the Council for Court Excellence’s DC Bench-Bar-Media Dialogue Project, supported by a grant from the State Justice Institute. The report is intended to serve as a resource to other jurisdictions that may be considering the development of a similar bench-bar-media committee. This project was funded by the State Justice Institute, grant number SJI-09-E-163. The report is by the Council for Court Excellence and should not be construed to reflect the Project overview and goals The DC Bench-Bar-Media Dialogue Project was an educational program series designed to foster discussion on issues of current interest to the bench, bar and media and, by so doing, to promote a better understanding between them. These sectors seldom have occasion to reflect upon and engage in dialogue on issues outside of their daily practice. The project planned and convened four programs on topics selected by a 17-member program committee comprised of public information officers from the local and federal courts in DC, judges, media attorneys, and representatives of the media. Initial topics identified in the 2009 SJI proposal included: the challenges of blogging and electronic access to the courts, and the fairness / accuracy of media coverage of the courts. These initial topics were addressed, respectively, in the fourth and first dialogue programs, which are described below. The planned audience for these programs included the judges and staff of the local and federal courts in DC, the media bar, and journalists. In addition to attracting attendance from each of these sectors, the programs also garnered attendance from faculty and students of law and journalism programs, subject matter experts (in the case of the Juvenile Justice program), and the broader civic community. Programs The Dialogue Project convened four programs between July 2010 and June 2011, with a six- month project planning process from January to June 2010. The program titles, brief descriptions and dates held were: 1. Sharing Perspectives , a closed-door session designed to let judges, attorneys and journalists candidly discuss issues of common complaint. The moderated discussion centered on hypotheticals presented to the attendees about a prior restraint in the press, access to jurors, and a grand jury leak. Held July 29, 2010. 36 attendees. 2. Press on Trial: the Libby Case , a public panel discussion with participants in the Scooter Libby trial in the US District Court for DC, emphasizing how trial courts can address and manage media attention in high-profile trials. Topics included: the court’s views about the success of its media center, established for the coverage of high profile trials; the value to the court of having a press liaison; the consideration by the judge of issuing a Council for Court Excellence Page 2 [THE D.C. BENCH BAR MEDIA DIALOGUE PROJECT] July 28, 2011 gag order in response to a prosecutorial press conference; a blogger’s ability to get a press credential; the court’s perspective on press coverage by a blogger; attorney perceptions of press coverage; reporter’s privilege; waivers offered by prosecutors to permit press to testify; members of the media appearing to testify in court; whether the Libby case was a good test case for further court consideration of reporter’s privilege; media access to juror voir dire; and jurors speaking with the press. Held December 9, 2010. 107 attendees. 3. Confidentiality vs. Open Access in DC Juvenile Cases , a public panel discussion about the effects of recent DC legislation to open certain juvenile records, where juvenile records and proceedings are presumptively confidential and closed to the media. Topics discussed included: how the legislation may affect admonitions about disclosure that judges currently give to parties, witnesses and the media in juvenile court; how the legislation impacts press coverage of juvenile matters; the psychological effects of disclosure on juvenile offenders; the possible effects of the new legislation on the code of ethics that govern doctors, psychologists and lawyers, which compel them not to reveal certain information about their clients; among others. Held May 23, 2011. 42 attendees. 4. Social Networks, Computer Technology and the Courts, a video-recorded public panel discussion conducted in a “Fred Friendly” hypothetical format discussing how DC courts, journalists and attorneys are reacting to and addressing social network and computer technology issues. The hypothetical was about the trial of fictional Mayor of Anycity, USA, and the challenges to the trial as a result of social network usage by jurors, court staff and reporters. Topics including judicial admonitions about use of social networks, jurors who use Twitter during trial, witnesses and lawyers who are LinkedIn contacts, live blogging from the courtroom, and cameras in the courtroom. Judges and reporters on the panel were asked about how these would, respectively, affect their management of the trial and decisions about when to report or not. Held June 15, 2011. 170 attendees. The invitations or flyers, indicating the program participants or, in the case of the closed-door session, the ground rules for program participation, are provided in the attached appendix. Programs flyers were circulated by email to the Council for Court Excellence Board of Directors and its supporters, to judges and staff in the local and federal courts in the District of Columbia, to print and broadcast journalists, to the faculty and staff at local law schools and journalism programs, to the DC Bar’s media law committee, and to organizations with a broad media interest or mission, such as the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Maryland- Delaware-DC Press Association. Council for Court Excellence Page 3 [THE D.C. BENCH BAR MEDIA DIALOGUE PROJECT] July 28, 2011 Findings The project derived a number or findings from the programs as well as from the experience of organizing a bench-bar-media committee. The major findings, divided into “program findings” and “committee organizational findings” are discussed below. Program findings 1. Journalists: judicial ethics matter. When citing why a judge cannot comment on a case, it is important to write “judicial ethics prohibit a judge from commenting on a current matter,” as opposed to “the judge did not respond to questions” or “the judge declined to answer.” Judges are concerned that the public not interpret the ethical prohibition to comment as an attempt to avoid speaking to the press or, by extension, to the public. (From Sharing Perspectives dialogue.) 2. Journalists: know the rules; when in doubt, ask. Rules regarding media access in courtrooms vary slightly from judge to judge, e.g., rules about use of electronic devices in the courtroom. According to the June 15 program on Social Networks, some judges would consider, if asked, permitting on a case-by-case basis the use of electronic devices for reporting a trial from the courtroom. For a current example, US District Court Judge Reggie Walton permitted live Twitter feeds to be posted from the courtroom in the Roger Clemens trial. However, under no circumstances are cameras or recording devices allowed in local or federal DC courtrooms. (From Social Networks Dialogue.) 3. Judges: direct journalists to sources who are permitted to explain the court’s actions. Journalists often times do not need a quote from a judge, just an explanation about why a judge ruled a certain way or what might happen next. The story lines that come from courtrooms have long been good fodder for news stories, and journalists get frustrated, with inaccurate reporting a possible result, when the lines of communication are cut or made difficult. (From Sharing Perspectives dialogue.) 4. Judges: when possible, arrange for a media room to permit access to a high-profile trial. If courthouse space permits, establishing even a temporary space for journalists to access a live audio feed of a high-profile trial will reduce the administrative burden on courts of accommodating press in the courtroom. (From Press on Trial dialogue.) 5. DC Council: The DC “Expanding Access to Juvenile Records Amendment Act of 2010,” permitting the naming of juveniles in certain serious matters, is perceived by prosecutors, defense attorneys, journalists and juvenile advocates to be ineffective. The District of Columbia Council, the equivalent of a state legislature, enacted this legislation in partial response to the publication of the name of a juvenile alleged to have been involved in a high-profile crime, as well as in partial response to growing media pressure to grant them access to juvenile cases, as elsewhere in the country. The legislation, permitting journalists only to name juveniles convicted more than once of a Council for Court Excellence Page 4 [THE D.C. BENCH BAR MEDIA DIALOGUE PROJECT] July 28, 2011 serious or violent crime, does not permit any additional access by journalists to juvenile proceedings or records.