STATE JUDICIAL PANEL REJECTS BANNING CAMERAS IN COURT.Byline: Doug Willis Douglas "Doug" Willis was a fictional character in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Terence Donovan. He first appeared in 1990 until the character's departure in 1994. Doug briefly returned to the show for several episodes in 2005. Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency.Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. A proposal to ban news cameras in criminal arraignments and preliminary and bail hearings was rejected Friday by the Judicial Council of California. Instead, the governing body of California's court system adopted a detailed series of guidelines for judges to use on a case-by-case basis to decide when to allow or exclude cameras from court proceedings. The task force was commissioned following the reaction of many judges and other public officials to media coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Many critics said that coverage was excessive and that it distorted the process. But Justice James Ardaiz described that trial as ``an aberration, rather than the norm,'' and not a reason to change camera rules that have worked well in California for the past dozen years. The new guidelines also restate a trial judge's authority, without any formal hearing, to remove cameras temporarily or permanently after granting permission. The guidelines apply to still as well as television cameras, but nearly all of the discussion involved TV cameras. The decision drew fire from partisans on both sides of the issue. Appellate Court A court having jurisdiction to review decisions of a trial-level or other lower court. An unsuccessful party in a lawsuit must file an appeal with an appellate court in order to have the decision reviewed. Justice Richard Huffmann of San Diego, the chairman of a council task force that recommended the ban on cameras in pretrial pre·tri·al n. A proceeding held before an official trial, especially to clarify points of law and facts. adj. 1. Of or relating to a pretrial. 2. proceedings, described the commission's action as ``maintaining the status quo [Latin, The existing state of things at any given date.] Status quo ante bellum means the state of things before the war. The status quo to be preserved by a preliminary injunction is the last actual, peaceable, uncontested status which preceded the pending controversy. .'' |
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