Local News

Shelby County Judge Kent Apsley interested in current media cameras courtroom experiment

Judges in five Indiana courtrooms will allow news media to use cameras under a pilot project announced by the state Supreme Court.

 

The four-month experiment started this month and could be extended, the court said.  All civil and criminal proceedings will be eligible for broadcast by news media.  Exceptions could include hearings closed to the public.

 

Kent Apsley was elected judge of Shelby County Superior Court 1 in 2014.  He says he’s never had media cameras in the courtroom.  Although there has been expedited use of technology with the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

 

Apsley says the experiment allows for media cameras in the courtroom, or even use of security cameras already in place that could be used by the media.

 

 

There will be some restrictions on the use of cameras, especially if police informants, undercover officers, children or certain other witnesses are testifying.

 

Various hearings have been streamed and viewed by the public during the pandemic.  However, recording of the hearings has been prohibited.

 

Judge Apsley notes many Indiana local courtrooms are small.  Making room for media may have its own complications but allowing the media could also mean more people can witness court events.

 

 

Judge Apsley notes the rights of different parties, particularly those in the courtroom compared to the public’s right to know can conflict.

 

 

Judge Apsley says he knows the judges involved.

 

 

The judges involved in the current experiment are Frances Gull in Allen Superior Court; Marianne Vorhees in Delaware Circuit Court; Bruce Parent in Lake Superior Court; Sean Persin in Tippecanoe Circuit Court; Leslie Shively in Vanderburgh Superior Court.

 

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