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Libel suit against blogger is voided
A judge threw out a libel suit this week against one of Minnesota's most popular conservative bloggers, issuing a ruling that put the political Web site on the same legal ground as newspapers and Thanks to
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print thisMinnesota / Journalists petition for cameras in courts
Groups ask Supreme Court to revise rules
BY STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — When a St. Paul man went on trial for the killings of six deer hunters, an attack that shook millions of people in two states, Minnesota television viewers watched.
When a Crookston man entered his plea in the kidnapping of Dru Sjodin — a college student whose disappearance mobilized thousands of searchers — the public saw and heard live broadcasts from the courtroom.
But that's only because those cases unfolded in neighboring states. If either had been tried in Minnesota, the only witnesses would have been those who could get a seat in the courtroom.
Now, a coalition of media groups is working to change that, asking the state Supreme Court to revise rules that effectively make Minnesota one of a handful of states that still keep cameras out of trial courts.
The groups plan to file their petition Monday to coincide with Sunshine Week, a nationwide effort by journalists to foster open records and freedom of information.
"It is a basic issue of the public's right to know," said Mark Anfinson, an attorney for the media groups. "Minnesota is generally a progressive state. Why are we bringing up the rear on this kind of thing?"
Opponents argue that cameras can intimidate witnesses and influence charging decisions and sentences. They also warn that cameras lead to grandstanding by attorneys and judges. The O.J. Simpson trial is the prime exhibit, but a weepy performance last month by a Florida judge in the Anna Nicole Smith case seemed to bolster the argument.
"I think it's a bad idea in that it would have some effect on lawyers and witnesses and judges tending to perform," said Jack Nordby, a Hennepin County judge for a dozen years.
The media proposal includes several restrictions news outlets say would ensure decorum and prevent distractions, including giving judges broad authority over cameras and the option to reject them in some cases.
In the nearly 20 years since the Minnesota Supreme Court last dealt with the issue, Anfinson said, cameras have become smaller and quieter, and many courtrooms already are wired for audio and video gear. Participants "quickly forget about the fact that they're being recorded," he said.
Wisconsin, where Chai Soua Vang was convicted in the hunter slayings case, and North Dakota, where Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. initially appeared in state court in the Sjodin case, have allowed cameras in their courtrooms for several years without major problems, Anfinson said.
In Sawyer County, Wis., Judge Norman Yackel presided over the closely watched Chai Soua Vang case and said cameras weren't an issue. He credited Court TV, which provided a pool feed for all broadcasters, with reducing the number of cameras and personnel needed in his courtroom.
"They were very, very accommodating. They weren't disruptive or anything," Yackel said. Initial problems with shutter noise from still photographers led Yackel to bar them for a day, but that problem was quickly worked out.
Minnesota's chief justice, Russell Anderson, declined to comment on the proposal, but some trial judges are open to trying it here.
Judge Michael Kirk, of Moorhead, says he often sees TV reports showing courtroom proceedings just across the river in North Dakota and said they tend to be routine, rarely sensational.
In 2005, Kirk presided over the high-profile trial of John Jason McLaughlin, who killed two fellow high school students in Cold Spring two years earlier. Kirk said having cameras present wouldn't have affected how he decided the case or what transpired in his packed courtroom but would have let more people watch.
"It's always the fear of the unknown that kind of drives people on these issues," Kirk said. "Ultimately in Minnesota for cameras ever to be acceptable in the courtroom, you're going to have some sort of pilot project that looks at and dispels those fears, or proves them to be true."
Some prosecutors and defense attorneys said they were concerned about the effect cameras might have on crime victims.
Hennepin County prosecutor Mike Freeman said those people "almost universally … don't want to be on camera."
Bill Mudd, a retired judge of the San Diego County Superior Court, said those concerns are overblown. Mudd said California's rules let him protect the few witnesses he's had who didn't want their faces shown.
"It depends on how you handle your courtroom," Mudd said.
Earl Gray, a Twin Cities defense attorney who has handled cases in Wisconsin's system, said he hasn't seen cameras deter victims or witnesses there. It hasn't been a problem in North Dakota either, said Jack McDonald, a lawyer who chairs his state's official commission on cameras and the courtroom.
One defense attorney who doesn't buy the media's freedom-of-information argument is Ron Meshbesher.
"They talk very high and mighty about what good it is for the public and the constitution and everything, but in practice it is all about ratings," Meshbesher said. "I guarantee that if O.J. didn't have ratings they would have shut it off the next day."
Linda Walker, Dru Sjodin's mother, said if media succeed on the issue, it's important that they avoid sensationalism.
"The important part of the media being in there is to present the case tastefully and tactfully so as not to hurt the pain of the victims and their families," Walker said.
Online
Suggested Rules
In theory, Minnesota trial courts allow video and audio coverage if all parties consent. As a practical matter, the rules are so cumbersome that it almost never happens.
Several news organizations are asking the state Supreme Court to change that. Some highlights of their proposal:
• Audio and video coverage would be allowed in most criminal and civil proceedings. Judges would have authority to block coverage in some circumstances.
• Judges would have broad authority to preserve courtroom decorum and prevent distractions.
• Chief judges would have authority to limit number and placement of TV and still cameras. No movement of cameras or operators while court in session.
• No floodlights or flashes.
• No coverage of private discussions between attorneys and clients or sidebars between attorneys and judges.
• No audio or video could be used as evidence later in the trial or in appeals.
A judge threw out a libel suit this week against one of Minnesota's most popular conservative bloggers, issuing a ruling that put the political Web site on the same legal ground as newspapers and broa...
March 09, 2007
Larry Cohen hospitalized
Former St. Paul mayor and Ramsey County District Court chief judge Larry Cohen has been hospitalized after suffering a serious illness while vacationing in the Caribbean.
Cohen is at St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul.
He had fallen and struck his head earlier this winter, he told friends, but hadn’t suffered any ill effects until vacationing with his wife, Comcast executive and St. Paul planning commissioner Kathi Donnelly-Cohen, in the Grand Cayman islands.
Cohen apparently began to feel some numbness and sought medical help. Doctors discovered bleeding in his brain and airlifted him to Miami for surgery Feb. 26. He was brought back to St. Paul on Tuesday.
Ramsey County District Court Judge Thomas Mott, who succeeded Cohen as the district’s chief judge and is a neighbor, said he visited Cohen at the hospital and found him in good spirits -- from his hospital bed, Cohen took the opportunity to rib the judge for calling in sick one day this week.
Mott said that Cohen is expected to fully recover, but will need some time and rest for recuperation.
Cohen was elected mayor in 1972, succeeding so-called "Supermayor" Charlie McCarty. He served two terms before being succeeded by George Latimer in 1976. Cohen is the only person in history to be mayor, chair of the Ramsey County board and the court’s chief judge.
Posted by CityHallScoop on March 9, 2007 at 03:29 PM
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