Test of cameras in Minn. courts clears hurdle

A proposed pilot program to test the use of news cameras in Minnesota's trial courts took a step forward Tuesday, but with an expensive price tag.

A court advisory committee voted 7-6 to recommend that the test go forward but determined it should include a major University of Minnesota study on the experiment to determine whether allowing cameras could discourage victims and witnesses from coming forward.

The study is budgeted to cost nearly $490,000, bringing the total costs of the pilot project to over $730,000.

The committee chair, retired Judge Elizabeth Hayden, acknowledged it would an "extremely expensive study." The proposal calls for the costs to be covered by news organizations, donations and grants. Some members expressed qualms about the money and whether the study would provide solid data about whether cameras have a chilling effect on justice.

The committee voted 8-5 against adding an alternative recommendation for a less extensive study if the proposed university study proves unfeasible due to the cost.

The final decision on whether and how to proceed will be up to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which has set an Oct. 30 deadline for the committee's final report.

The Supreme Court asked the committee, made up mostly of judges and other members of the legal community, to design the pilot project after several Minnesota media organizations in 2007 petitioned for greater camera access. The complexity of designing a scientifically valid study, as the high court requested, slowed the process by several months.

Minnesota allows cameras in trial courts only if the judge, prosecution and defense all agree, which almost never happens. One notable exception was during former Sen. Norm Coleman's unsuccessful court challenge of his 2008 election recount loss. The state's appellate courts have long allowed video and still photo coverage.

According to the Radio Television Digital News Association, Minnesota's rules are among the most restrictive in the country. Around 35 states have looser rules, including neighboring Wisconsin, North Dakota and Iowa.

The committee's proposal is for an 18-month pilot project that would begin April 1 and run statewide through September 2012. Some 500 randomly selected cases would be designated for camera coverage while a similar number would serve as a non-camera control group. Cameras would also be allowed in certain other cases deemed newsworthy.

Whether the project could stick to the proposed dates is unclear. The study is not supposed to cost the state's court system anything, but attorney David Herr, who will write the committee's report, expressed doubt about the viability of the proposed funding.

While news organizations have offered to cover some of the camera costs, Herr told the panel coming up with the money likely would take a year, and that the lead researcher may be overly optimistic about prospects for a $500,000 federal grant for the study. He also expressed doubt about whether law firms would donate much in this economic climate.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)