What This Bill Does
This bill allows judges in federal appeals courts and district courts to decide whether to allow cameras and recording equipment in courtrooms. The bill lets judges permit photographers, broadcasters and television stations to record court proceedings and show them to the public.
Who It Affects
Federal judges (appellate judges and district court judges), media organizations, witnesses in court cases, jurors, lawyers, and parties involved in federal court cases.
Key Provisions
• Federal appeals court judges can decide whether to allow cameras, electronic recording, broadcasting or televising of court proceedings (Sec. 2(b)(1)(A))
• Federal district court judges can decide whether to allow cameras, electronic recording, broadcasting or televising of court proceedings, with some limitations (Sec. 2(b)(2)(A)(i))
• A judge cannot allow media coverage if the judge or a majority of judges determine it would violate the legal due process rights of any party involved (Sec. 2(b)(1)(B) and Sec. 2(b)(2)(A)(iii)(I))
• Judges must not allow cameras or recording of jurors or the jury selection process (Sec. 2(b)(2)(B))
• If a witness (who is not a party) requests it in a trial, the court must disguise or hide the witness's face and voice so the broadcast audience cannot recognize them (Sec. 2(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I))
• Judges must tell all non-party witnesses they have the right to ask for their image and voice to be obscured (Sec. 2(b)(2)(A)(ii)(II))
• Judges can hide anyone's face and voice if good cause exists that showing their image would threaten their safety, the court's security, ongoing law enforcement operations, or justice (Sec. 2(b)(2)(C))
• Private conversations between lawyers and clients, lawyers and other lawyers, or lawyers and judges cannot be recorded or broadcast if they are not part of the official court record (Sec. 2(b)(7))
• The Judicial Conference of the United States must create mandatory guidelines within 6 months for protecting vulnerable witnesses, including crime victims, child victims, families of victims, cooperating witnesses, undercover law enforcement officers, witnesses in witness relocation programs, and minors under 18 years old (Sec. 2(b)(5))
• The authority for district courts to allow media coverage ends 3 years after this law is enacted (Sec. 2(b)(2)(D))
What Changes
If this becomes law, federal judges will have the power to allow cameras and recording in their courtrooms instead of banning all media coverage. Judges in appellate courts will have permanent authority to make these decisions. Judges in district courts will have this authority for 3 years only. Witnesses can request to have their faces and voices hidden from broadcasts. Private lawyer conversations cannot be recorded or shown to the public. The Judicial Conference must write rules to protect vulnerable witnesses like crime victims and minors.
Important Definitions
• Presiding judge: The judge running the court proceeding; in cases with multiple judges, the senior active judge or chief judge depending on the court (Sec. 2(a)(1))
• Appellate court of the United States: Any federal circuit court of appeals or the Supreme Court (Sec. 2(a)(2))
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 833
To provide for media coverage of Federal court proceedings.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 16, 2023
Mr.
GRASSLEY
(for
himself,
Ms.
KLOBUCHAR,
Mr.
DURBIN,
Mr.
BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MARKEY, and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To provide for media coverage of Federal court proceedings.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sunshine in the Court-
4
room Act of 2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. FEDERAL APPELLATE AND DISTRICT COURTS.
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(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
7
(1) PRESIDING JUDGE.—The term ‘‘presiding
8
judge’’ means the judge presiding over the court
9
proceeding concerned. In proceedings in which more
10
than one judge participates, the presiding judge
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•S 833 IS
shall be the senior active judge so participating or,
1
in the case of a circuit court of appeals, the senior
2
active circuit judge so participating, except that—
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(A) in en banc sittings of any United
4
States circuit court of appeals, the presiding
5
judge shall be the chief judge of the circuit
6
whenever the chief judge participates; and
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(B) in en banc sittings of the Supreme
8
Court of the United States, the presiding judge
9
shall be the Chief Justice whenever the Chief
10
Justice participates.
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(2) APPELLATE
COURT
OF
THE
UNITED
12
STATES.—The term ‘‘appellate court of the United
13
States’’ means any United States circuit court of ap-
14
peals and the Supreme Court of the United States.
15
(b) AUTHORITY OF PRESIDING JUDGE TO ALLOW
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MEDIA COVERAGE OF COURT PROCEEDINGS.—
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(1) AUTHORITY OF APPELLATE COURTS.—
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(A) IN
GENERAL.—Except as provided
19
under subparagraph (B), the presiding judge of
20
an appellate court of the United States may, at
21
the discretion of that judge, permit the
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photographing, electronic recording, broad-
23
casting, or televising to the public of any court
24
proceeding over which that judge presides.
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(B) EXCEPTION.—The presiding judge
1
shall not permit any action under subparagraph
2
(A), if—
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(i) in the case of a proceeding involv-
4
ing only the presiding judge, that judge de-
5
termines the action would constitute a vio-
6
lation of the due process rights of any
7
party; or
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(ii) in the case of a proceeding involv-
9
ing the participation of more than one
10
judge, a majority of the judges partici-
11
pating determine that the action would
12
constitute a violation of the due process
13
rights of any party.
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(2) AUTHORITY OF DISTRICT COURTS.—
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(A) IN GENERAL.—
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(i)
AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding
17
any other provision of law, except as pro-
18
vided under clause (iii), the presiding judge
19
of a district court of the United States
20
may, at the discretion of that judge, per-
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mit the photographing, electronic record-
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ing, broadcasting, or televising to the pub-
23
lic of any court proceeding over which that
24
judge presides.
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(ii) OBSCURING OF WITNESSES.—Ex-
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cept as provided under clause (iii)—
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(I) upon the request of any wit-
3
ness (other than a party) in a trial
4
proceeding, the court shall order the
5
face and voice of the witness to be
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disguised or otherwise obscured in
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such manner as to render the witness
8
unrecognizable to the broadcast audi-
9
ence of the trial proceeding; and
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(II) the presiding judge in a trial
11
proceeding shall inform each witness
12
who is not a party that the witness
13
has the right to request the image and
14
voice of that witness to be obscured
15
during the testimony of the witness.
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(iii)
EXCEPTION.—The
presiding
17
judge shall not permit any action under
18
this subparagraph—
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(I) if that judge determines the
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action would constitute a violation of
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the due process rights of any party;
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and
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(II) until the Judicial Conference
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of the United States promulgates
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•S 833 IS
mandatory guidelines under para-
1
graph (5).
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(B) NO MEDIA COVERAGE OF JURORS.—
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The presiding judge shall not permit the
4
photographing, electronic recording, broad-
5
casting, or televising of any juror in a trial pro-
6
ceeding, or of the jury selection process.
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(C) DISCRETION
OF
THE
JUDGE.—The
8
presiding judge shall have the discretion to ob-
9
scure the face and voice of an individual, if
10
good cause is shown that the photographing,
11
electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising
12
of the individual would threaten—
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(i) the safety of the individual;
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(ii) the security of the court;
15
(iii) the integrity of future or ongoing
16
law enforcement operations; or
17
(iv) the interest of justice.
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(D) SUNSET OF DISTRICT COURT AUTHOR-
19
ITY.—The authority under this paragraph shall
20
terminate 3 years after the date of the enact-
21
ment of this Act.
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(3) INTERLOCUTORY
APPEALS
BARRED.—The
23
decision of the presiding judge under this subsection
24
of whether or not to permit, deny, or terminate the
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•S 833 IS
photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or
1
televising of a court proceeding may not be chal-
2
lenged through an interlocutory appeal.
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(4) ADVISORY GUIDELINES.—The Judicial Con-
4
ference of the United States may promulgate advi-
5
sory guidelines to which a presiding judge, at the
6
discretion of that judge, may refer in making deci-
7
sions with respect to the management and adminis-
8
tration of photographing, recording, broadcasting, or
9
televising described under paragraphs (1) and (2).
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(5) MANDATORY GUIDELINES.—Not later than
11
6 months after the date of enactment of this Act,
12
the Judicial Conference of the United States shall
13
promulgate mandatory guidelines that a presiding
14
judge is required to follow for obscuring of certain
15
vulnerable witnesses, including crime victims, minor
16
victims, families of victims, cooperating witnesses,
17
undercover law enforcement officers or agents, wit-
18
nesses subject to section 3521 of title 18, United
19
States Code, relating to witness relocation and pro-
20
tection, or minors under the age of 18 years. The
21
guidelines shall include procedures for determining,
22
at the earliest practicable time in any investigation
23
or case, which witnesses should be considered vulner-
24
able under this section.
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•S 833 IS
(6) PROCEDURES.—In the interests of justice
1
and fairness, the presiding judge of the court in
2
which media use is desired has discretion to promul-
3
gate rules and disciplinary measures for the court-
4
room use of any form of media or media equipment
5
and the acquisition or distribution of any of the im-
6
ages or sounds obtained in the courtroom. The pre-
7
siding judge shall also have discretion to require
8
written acknowledgment of the rules by anyone indi-
9
vidually or on behalf of any entity before being al-
10
lowed to acquire any images or sounds from the
11
courtroom.
12
(7) NO
BROADCAST
OF
CONFERENCES
BE-
13
TWEEN ATTORNEYS AND CLIENTS.—There shall be
14
no audio pickup or broadcast of conferences which
15
occur in a court proceeding between attorneys and
16
their clients, between co-counsel of a client, between
17
adverse counsel, or between counsel and the pre-
18
siding judge, if the conferences are not part of the
19
official record of the proceedings.
20
(8) EXPENSES.—A court may require that any
21
accommodations to effectuate this Act be made with-
22
out public expense.
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(9) INHERENT
AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this
24
Act shall limit the inherent authority of a court to
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•S 833 IS
protect witnesses or clear the courtroom to preserve
1
the decorum and integrity of the legal process or
2
protect the safety of an individual.
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