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Cameras in Court Rooms

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Submitted By antoine
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Should Cameras Be Placed in Courtrooms So That Criminal Trials Can Be Televised?

It is axiomatic in democracy that everyone has access to the justice system and has the right to know how those laws are enforced. This can be ensured by having trials in courtrooms televised. Whether to have cameras in courtrooms or not was a huge debate that began back in 1977 in Miami (May 2008). After a long debate higher court judges decided to allow trials to be televised in Miami. Those debates never ended because of different judges all over the world having different opinions. Personally speaking, cameras should be allowed in courtrooms so that criminal trials can be televised, to make it clear to people what circumstances they would face if they were to do anything illegal.

In every country in the world laws are made in the parliament by the government in regards to the opinions of higher court judges. Many proceedings carried in the parliament are allowed to be televised so that citizens can know what the laws they should abide by are. The irony in televising parliament proceedings is that people are allowed to watch laws being made, but they cannot see how they are being enforced. If criminal trials are televised then people can know how those laws are being enforced and would be more cautious by restraining themselves from breaking the law. This is because they would know what the circumstances of their actions are, thanks to the televised criminal trials. In the United States TV cameras are allowed in all courtrooms, in every state except for South Dakota, Indiana and Mississippi (2006). They also have a TV channel called Court TV were many different courtroom trials are aired, for the citizens to know exactly how the law is being enforced.

Another reason why cameras should be allowed in courtrooms is that judges would be forced to do their job properly and

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