Minnesota Supreme Court orders expanded camera access in courtrooms
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March 16, 2023
Judge Peter Cahill presided over the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. Cahill ordered that the trial be livestreamed as a matter of public interest.
The Minnesota Supreme Court issued a seismic ruling Wednesday regarding media coverage inside criminal trials by expanding camera and audio courtroom access after decades of debate and calls for change.
"It's groundbreaking in this state," said University of Minnesota media law and ethics professor Jane Kirtley, seeing the decision as having been a long time coming.
Minnesota joins more than 35 other states that have routinely allowed cameras in court. Florida became the first in 1979, but Minnesota's highest court has long resisted expanding access despite the urging of media outlets and government transparency groups. Even with the ruling, media access in the courtroom is not the presumption.
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