October 24, 2011
Over the past couple years there has been intense debate over the issue of cell phones and social media being used and/or allowed in the courtroom.
Here is a link to an interesting NPR story. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112926570
There are issues with technology in the courtrooms. Cell phones and laptops did not exist when court rules were written. So there are no particular rules allowing or forbidding these sorts of things. The decision is often left up the the individual judges to decide. Some ban all cell phone or computer use while others allow permission for instant blogging during the trial.
In general, camera phones and smart phones are a huge problem in the courtrooms. For instance, there have been cases in gang related trials were people would take pictures of the jury members and use them to intimidate them to vote a particular way. As a juror, they are supposed to hear what both sides have to say and then make a decision. But what if they google the defendant and find out something that will make their decision biased. There are dozens more problems involving these types of issues which has led to judges banning all sorts of phones and laptops from courtrooms. These decisions are most of the time to the dismay of newspapers and reporters. Is it a big deal for a reporter to tweet updates from the courtroom? What about if the reporter has some sort of bias and their updates are perceived to be leaning a particular way?
1. Do you think cell phones and computers should be allowed in the courtroom?
2. Do you think that the use technology is distracting, which is one of the arguments against it?
3. How useless or how advantageous is the ability to instantly blog live or tweet from inside a courtroom?
5 thoughts on “Technology in the courtroom”
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October 25th, 2011 at 10:26 pm
Yes, I do think cell phones and computers should be allowed in courtrooms. Technology is a major part of life in today’s society. Rather than using pen and paper, computers and phones are used for notes and memos as reminders. The use of phones and computers are much simpler and faster. I think the only people allowed to have computers or phones are people not involved in the case. Just the audience and reporters.
The ability to instantly blog or tweet from inside a court room would be a great advantage. The public would be provided with information instantly. The public would be provided with fast, instant information without actually having to be in the courtroom.
October 26th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
1. I definitely think cell phones and computers should be allowed in courtrooms. Technology plays such a major role in the American lifestyle today that it seems almost primitive to ask someone to strip themselves of it before entering a courtroom. Computers and phones can be used for many useful journalistic practices, including note taking, recording, blogging and more. I do, however, think restrictions should be placed on who can use technology in the court room, as those who are involved in the case should not be allowed to use it — just the public and journalists.
2. I think it is difficult to say all technology is either distracting or not distracting. Because technology comes in so many variations, some is more distracting than others (i.e., a large, professional video camera is much more distracting than a thin smartphone with a camera built in). I do not think distraction is reason enough to completely ban it from courtrooms. In general, as technology advances, I think it is becoming very commonplace and less distracting, so it should be permitted.
3. Live blogging and tweeting from inside a courtroom is just one of many examples of 21st century journalism. I think it is a great advantage, as the public could instantly be updated on what is taking place inside the courtroom without actually being there. Live blogging and tweeting is common for many events that journalists currently cover. Although courts are a more sensitive subject, I think it is safe to say that someday live blogging and tweeting from courtrooms will be standard procedure for news coverage in the future.
October 28th, 2011 at 1:04 am
1. I do not think they should be allowed to be used in the courtroom by trial participants. i.e. jury members, legal council, etc. I think journalists should be allowed to use cell phones and laptops as long as they do not distrurb the court and its proceedings.
2. I don’t think that the issue is so much distraction as it is interuptance. If technology can be used in a way that is not disruptive then I don’t see the problem.
3. It is extremely advantagous because it provides coverage of the trial in real time without the disturbance, which may be caused by television cameras.
November 4th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
1. Everyone is blogging and tweeting. In the world of social media and journalism, often the fastest way to get information out is reporting it online. Cell phones and computers should absolutely be allowed in the court room. How is the media supposed to serve as the fourth estate with a pad of paper and a pen? To receive and deliver the most complete understanding of the case, use of social media and blogs is crucial.
Check out Marcy Wheeler at http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/. She “live-blogged” the Scooter Libby Trial (that we mentioned in class) and basically provided a running discussion about the case for those who weren’t present in the court.
Live-blogging is so important to give the public the opportunity to access information that is often kept in the case (if they decide to access it). It also makes it easier for a journalist to capture more of the detail in the case that they may not be able to include in a news story.
November 6th, 2011 at 4:27 pm
Cell phones and computers should definitely be allowed in court rooms. It is the way that some people are supposed to do their job, so they should not be hindered from that. Along those lines, technology is not at all distracting. Who would it possibly be distracting to? Judges and attorneys have to deal with much worse things than someone on a computer, and you would think that the defendant/plaintiff has bigger things to worry about.
For a journalist, being able to use a cell phone/computer inside of a courtroom his a huge advantage. That way, it would be easier to take notes (both from an organizational and legibility standpoint) and would allow them to quicker get their story together.