Eyes on the Courts Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5645 To provide for media coverage of Federal appellate court proceedings, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 16, 2020 Mr. NADLER (for himself, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. QUIGLEY, and Mr. CONNOLLY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide for media coverage of Federal appellate court proceedings, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Eyes on the Courts 4 Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. MEDIA COVERAGE IN FEDERAL APPELLATE COURT 6 PROCEEDINGS. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 (1) PRESIDING JUDGE.—The term ‘‘presiding 9 judge’’ means the judge presiding over a proceeding 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5645.IH H5645 2 •HR 5645 IH in an appellate court of the United States. In pro- 1 ceedings in which more than one judge participates, 2 the presiding judge shall be the senior active judge 3 so participating or, in the case of a circuit court of 4 appeals, the senior active circuit judge so partici- 5 pating, except that— 6 (A) in en banc sittings of any United 7 States circuit court of appeals, the presiding 8 judge shall be the chief judge of the circuit 9 whenever the chief judge participates; and 10 (B) in en banc sittings of the Supreme 11 Court of the United States, the presiding judge 12 shall be the Chief Justice whenever the Chief 13 Justice participates. 14 (2) APPELLATE COURT OF THE UNITED 15 STATES.—The term ‘‘appellate court of the United 16 States’’ means any United States circuit court of ap- 17 peals and the Supreme Court of the United States. 18 (b) MEDIA COVERAGE OF COURT PROCEEDINGS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The presiding judge in a 20 proceeding of an appellate court of the United 21 States shall permit the photographing, electronic re- 22 cording, audio-visual coverage, broadcasting, tele- 23 vising, or streaming in real time or near-real time on 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5645.IH H5645 3 •HR 5645 IH the internet of that proceeding to or for the public, 1 unless— 2 (A) the presiding judge determines in writ- 3 ing, on the motion of any party to the pro- 4 ceeding or sua sponte, that allowing such 5 photographing, recording, broadcasting, tele- 6 vising, or streaming would violate the due proc- 7 ess rights of a party to the proceeding or is oth- 8 erwise not in the interests of justice; and 9 (B) the determination under paragraph (1) 10 is published at least 72 hours before the pro- 11 ceeding begins. 12 (2) INTERLOCUTORY APPEALS BARRED.—The 13 determination of a presiding judge under paragraph 14 (1)(A) may not be challenged through an interlocu- 15 tory appeal. 16 (3) GUIDELINES.—The Judicial Conference of 17 the United States may promulgate guidelines with 18 respect to the management and administration of 19 photographing, recording, broadcasting, televising, 20 or streaming described under paragraph (1). 21 (4) PROCEDURES.—In the interests of justice 22 and fairness, the presiding judge of each appellate 23 court of the United States may promulgate rules 24 and disciplinary measures for the courtroom use of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5645.IH H5645 4 •HR 5645 IH any form of media or media equipment and the ac- 1 quisition or distribution of any of the images or 2 sounds obtained in the courtroom. The presiding 3 judge may also require written acknowledgment of 4 the rules by anyone individually or on behalf of any 5 entity before being allowed to acquire any images or 6 sounds from the courtroom. 7 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall apply with re- 8 spect to any proceeding in an appellate court of the United 9 States that begins on or after the end of the 90-day period 10 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5645.IH H5645