Cameras should be allowed in terrorist case
By Julie Ann Matonis
Wire Coordinator

Zacarias Moussaoui is the first person to face criminal charges in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks, but interested Americans may never get to watch his face during the trial.

Though Moussaoui has asked that his trial be televised, a federal judge is concerned about the effects that such coverage would have on witnesses and court participants.

The Justice Department also fears that the al Qaeda terrorist network may retaliate against trial witnesses.

Since Sept. 11, concerns about future terrorist attacks have abounded. However, caution and fear should not prevent the public from viewing Moussaoui’s trial.

The trial should be televised with precautions in place in order to ensure the safety of witnesses and jurors. Obviously, cameras don’t need to be focused on the people trying to allow a fair exercise of our judicial system, but television could provide an important outlet to display the United States legal system. It is time to openly display court procedures, especially when dealing with someone who allegedly aided in the terrorist attacks.

A federal judge could rule as early as this week whether to permit Moussaoui’s request. Lawyers and network television have petitioned the court’s permission.

Court TV argues that the First Amendment allows the right to observe criminal cases. The court appears reluctant to rescind a long-standing ban on cameras in federal courtrooms and declares the ban unconstitutional.

Certain state and local trials are already televised, with some restrictions, but federal trials are not open to cameras. In recent years there have been strides taken to open up federal proceedings. The Supreme Court permitted audio broadcasts when deciding the 2000 presidential election outcome.

Last June, two senators also introduced legislation known as the Sunshine in the Courtroom Act, which would allow federal judges to permit cameras in their courtrooms.

What good reason is there to keep the American public from Moussaoui’s trial? Every day, Court TV broadcasts cases that do not matter to the vast majority of the American public. Moussaoui’s case is of note to the entire country.

When cameras are present in courtrooms, opponents have argued that proceedings turn into entertainment, preventing the courts from conducting trials fairly. O.J. Simpson and the “Trial of the Century” did attract a media circus, which is unfortunately still in the back of many minds.

The world spotlight will already be on this trial because Moussaoui is the only person so far facing criminal charges stemming from Sept. 11. Why not use this opportunity to spotlight fairness and justice?

Wire Coordinator Julie Ann Matonis is a junior broadcast journalism major from San Antonio. She can be contacted at (j.a.matonis@student.tcu.edu).

TCU Daily Skiff © 2002