Judge Allows Bloggers to Use Computers, Cell Phones for Live Trial Coverage
A judge in Boulder, Colo., has refused to ban cell phones and computers from the child abuse trial of a man accused in the death of his infant son.
On Monday Judge Lael Montgomery turned down a joint motion filed by prosecutors and defense lawyers to bar live-blogging in the courtroom, according to the Colorado Independent and the Boulder Daily Camera. The motion had argued witnesses and jurors could learn of the proceedings through accounts posted on blogs and Twitter.
The Daily Camera quotes defense lawyer Paul McCormick. He said blogging possibly taints the jury and “spawns this mushroom cloud of misinformation.”
But Montgomery said the problem could be addressed with an order prohibiting jurors and witnesses from reading about courtroom testimony, the stories say.
Wichita Eagle reporter Ron Sylvester supports the judge’s decision. He has used Twitter to cover trials in the past, submitting posts within the service’s 140-character limit. He uses a T-Mobile Dash phone and a Bluetooth foldable keyboard to send his updates to Twitter through text messaging.
“Courts are supposed to be public, and this is just another way of creating public access,” Sylvester told the Colorado Independent in an e-mail.
Corrected on Jan. 13 to note that Montgomery is a state judge.
