Chicago Area Courts Ban Electronic Devices, For Some

Criminal courthouses in Cook County, Illinois (Chicago and environs) will ban the public from bringing in electronicdevices as of Jan. 15, under an order issued by Cook County Chief Judge TimothyEvans in mid-December. See Gen’lAdmin. Order 2012-8 (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook Cnty. Dec. 11, 2012).

In a press release announcing the new policy, Evans citedconcerns that people attending court proceedings were using cellphones tophotograph – and intimidate -- witnesses, judges, jurors, and prospectivejurors, to relay courtroom testimony to upcoming witnesses, and to streamjudges’ comments during trial. “The court is sending a strong message to gangmembers and others that any attempts to intimidate witnesses, jurors, andjudges in court will not be permitted,” Evans was quoted saying in the release. “Theban will help to ensure that justice is properly done by preserving theintegrity of testimony and maintaining court decorum.”

The ban will apply to 12 of the 13 courthouses in county.The exception will be the Richard J. Daley Center Courthouse in Chicago, whichhandles civil, traffic and misdemeanor cases.

Under the order, members of the news media are exempt fromthe ban, and will be able to use electronic devices in courtrooms under thecircuit court’s pending application for to participated in the extended mediacoverage experiment authorized by the Illinois Supreme Court. See In re: Extended Media Coverage inthe Circuit Courts of Illinois on an Experimental Basis, M.R. 2364 (Ill. Jan.24, 2012).

Others exempt from the ban include current or former judges;licensed attorneys; all law enforcement officers; all government employees;persons reporting for jury service; jurors (subject to the authority of thetrial judges); building and maintenance workers, and equipment repair personsand vendors. But their use of the devices will be limited to public areas ofthe courthouses.

Individual judges may also issue orders allowing others tobring electronic devices into the courthouse, and may also opt to allow thedevices to be brought into and used in their courtrooms.

The courts obviously need to be concerned about safety, the integrity ofcourt proceedings, and decorum. But the new order is a broad hatchet, when a scalpel would have been more appropriate.

The overall effect of Cook County's new rules on electronic devices, like similar rules in other courts (D.C. Superior Court, Southern District of New York), is create a class system of  "haves" (members of the media, lawyers,judges, etc.) and "have nots" (everybody else). In a building devoted to equal justice under the law.

Eric P. Robinson teaches media law and ethics at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and Baruch College, and is of counsel to the Counts Law Group.He was previously Deputy Director of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Courts and Media at the University of Nevada, Reno. Eric is amedia and internet law attorney with extensive experience analyzing andwriting on media, internet and freedom of expression issues, including tracking media and internet litigation and legislation. He also blogs atbloglawonline.com.

(Image courtesy of Flickr user Daquella manera pursuant to Creative Commons CC BY 2.0 license.)