In January, 2012, the Illinois Supreme Court announced a pilot program to allow TV cameras and photographers in Illinois courtrooms. The experiment is proceeding on a county by county basis and has not yet been implemented in Cook County. However, several trials have already been televised downstate and this week, arraignment of Elzbieta Plackowska, the Naperville resident accused of killing her son and a girl she was babysitting, is expected to televised. The presiding judge of Cook County has indicated that he approves of the concept and we expect to see televised proceedings here in Cook County in the near future.
Advocates of televising judicial proceedings argue that doing so promotes the public’s right to know and that it will help keep the judicial system above board and honest. Detractors are concerned that televising preliminary proceedings may prejudice potential jurors and that attorneys, judges and even witnesses may play to the cameras instead of focusing on the task at hand. But there is no question that the televising of judicial proceedings is a trend that is gaining momentum. Thirty states now allow cameras in the courtrooms. So in the future we may not be able to tell jurors that real life trials are different from what they see on TV – they may already be seeing real life trials on TV.