By AP/KWMU
Springfield, Ill. – The Illinois Supreme Court has once again rejected a request to allow news media to bring cameras and microphones into trial courtrooms.
The court on Wednesday dismissed a request without comment that had made by several news organizations. It asked the court to allow cameras and microphones at trials, a practice that's common in many other states.
Reporters are allowed to record oral arguments at the state Supreme Court in Springfield and at appellate courts, but not at trials.
Chief Justice Bob Thomas told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the court was concerned about press coverage of high-profile cases and saw no need to change long-standing rules.
But Steve Scott, with the Illinois News Broadcasters Association, says the Supreme Court has never made clear why it objects to letting reporters record trials. Scott, himself a reporter in Chicago, argues that reporters should be given the tools needed to most accurately do their jobs, adding that would better enable them to act as the eyes and ears of the public.