Extract from Sam Bock’s article “Cameras in the Courtroom: What Might Be on a Judge’s Mind When Media Comes to Court?”
Editor’s Note: At a Relativity Fest 2023 Session entitled “Law and Policy: Cameras in the Courtroom,” a panel of experts from across the legal industry shared their thoughts on this very modern issue in the practice of law. Today, we’re sharing the second piece of our two-part coverage from their discussion.
In our previous post in this two-part series on cameras in the courtroom, we took a good, hard look at the ethical practices journalists and lawyers are beholden to when their professions collide.
But what about how judges conduct themselves? And what about how they feel about it?
If you’ve attended any of our Relativity Fest Chicago conferences, you’ve hopefully sat in on our annual Judicial Panel. Each year, we gather a handful of brilliant legal experts to educate our community and share their perspectives on the preeminent issues of the law in that moment. And each year, without a doubt, I learn a thing. Or two. Or ten.
However, shocking as this may be, the legal insights aren’t really my favorite part.
My favorite part is simply seeing our judicial guests just being human. Being friendly! Being funny, being argumentative when necessary, enjoying a good conversation with one another—and then mingling with attendees as peers.
