TV news cameras can film in some UK courts, can't be pointed at anyone interesting
It may seem slightly old-fashioned to the OJ generation, but British journalists have been campaigning for more than a decade to bring TV news cameras into courtrooms. Today they got a breakthrough: the UK's Ministry of Justice has partially lifted its ban on filming in a total of five courtrooms in the Court of Appeal, permitting on-the-day news coverage of certain trials. There'll be strict conditions, however, including the right for the judge to retrospectively cancel recording anytime he reaches for the Jameson's (thanks to a built-in time delay) and also a requirement that cameras only be pointed at lawyers and judges, rather than defendants, victims or witnesses. In other words, it looks like an important step for transparency in British courts, but we probably shouldn't expect to see any hugely dramatic judicial escapades right at the start.
