The Illinois Statehouse News reports the state Supreme Court is expected to announce Tuesday that trial court proceedings can be recorded for the first time in the state's 194-year history. The new policy includes some restrictions.
Jurors and potential jurors may not be photographed. Cameras and recording devices will not be allowed in juvenile, divorce or child custody cases. And victims of violent felonies and police informants may request that the judge prohibit them from being photographed.
Experts say this measure will create transparency in the legal system.
"Realistically, as much as for 190 years in the courtroom we don't allow cameras in the courtroom for as long as this country has existed, trials are public. And the public has a right to be there -- whether cameras or personally," said Richard Kling, Chicago-Kent College of Law.
The new rules for cameras are expected to be on a limited and experimental basis.
