Shropshire Star

Plans to televise criminal crown court cases receive backing of Shropshire solicitor

Televising court cases could get the public more involved in the justice system, according to Shropshire solicitors.

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It comes as it was announced that criminal court cases could soon be broadcast into living rooms.

A landmark project is exploring the viability of filming legal proceedings.

The pilot scheme saw cameras in England and Wales film judges' sentencing in eight crown courts.

The footage will only be sent to the Ministry of Justice and the Court Service but it is hoped that legislation could be passed next year to allow the footage to be used publicly.

Judges will have a camera trained on them and have microphones next to their benches to capture the moment they hand down a sentence. Stephen Scully, a solicitor advocate, at Lanyon Bowdler Solicitors, in Shropshire, said: "Any way the public can be more engaged with the criminal justice system can only be a good thing.

"The public's perception of what goes in the courtroom is almost wholly driven by what they see in the media, and that naturally tends to be the bigger, more serious crimes, rather than the day-to-day proceedings.

"The courts are an unknown world for many, and opening them up should be seen as a positive move.

"It would need to be done in a sensible way to ensure we don't go down the road of sensationalising the courtroom. It needs to be thought through very carefully."

Currently the drama of the courtroom is largely recounted by journalists, who are forbidden from recording audio or taking pictures within court precincts.

Some Appeal Court and Supreme Court proceedings are already broadcast.

Filming has been introduced in the High Court for civil cases and in Scotland an entire criminal case was broadcast in 2013.

Only senior judges will be filmed and they will have the power to stop recording.

Defendants and witnesses will not be filmed as part of the new scheme in the UK, due to concerns it could intimidate.

Cameras are in courtrooms in some countries with viewers glued to high-profile cases such as the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius.

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