INDIANAPOLIS — After a pilot program in select Indiana courtrooms, judges statewide will have the option to allow news cameras at nonconfidential court proceedings.
Previously, Rule 2.17 in the Code of Judicial Conduct banned recording, broadcasting or photographing court proceedings without approval from the Indiana Supreme Court. Now, an amendment to the rule will let local judges decide if news media can bring their cameras into court.
The amendment defines news media as "persons employed by or representing a newspaper, periodical, press association, radio station, television station, or wire service." A judge has discretion to decide what qualifies as news media, and the public is still prohibited from recording court proceedings.
The new amendment goes into effect May 1.
"This is the culmination of years of work and pilot projects with discussion and evaluation," said Chief Justice Loretta H. Rush. "Trial court judges are in the best position to determine how to balance the importance of transparency while protecting the rights of people involved in a court matter."
The four-month pilot program involved:
- Allen Superior Court
- Delaware Circuit Court 1
- Lake Superior Court
- Tippecanoe Circuit Court
- Vanderburgh Superior Court
The five judges who opened their courtrooms to cameras during the program were Frances Gull, Vorhees, Bruce Parent, Sean Persin and Leslie Shively. Gull, an Allen County Superior Court judge, was appointed as a special judge in Richard Allen's trial for the Delphi murders.