Media houses should own live transmission the courts
Dear Editor,
I refer to the Jamaica Observer editorial of Friday, July 27, 2018. You will recall that during the week of the December 9, 2013 the Court of Appeal sat for the very first time outside Kingston. The opening session was televised at my suggestion.
At that session I invited the media to consider broadcasting proceedings of the Court of Appeal live. I suggested that discussions should take place between the media houses and the court authorities for the necessary protocol to be determined. Up to the time that I left office in 2016 my invitation and suggestion were not taken up by any media house.
I fully support the live transmission of court proceedings. However, I do not view that as a budget item for the courts, given the state of the country’s economy. I think the media houses should bear the cost of such transmission in the same way they bear the cost of transmitting other news.
The conduct of live broadcasts is a matter that interested parties should take up with the honourable chief justice and the president of the Court of Appeal. It would be for them to give the go-ahead and set the necessary protocols in place. After all, you don’t want technicians coming into a court at 9:35 am to set up equipment for a 9:30 am start of proceedings.
Also, there are also certain safeguards that would have to be put in place to thwart the mischievous, as well as such people who may have devious intentions. And I know that there are those who will swear to the Almighty that no such individuals exist in Jamaica.
Furthermore, it is not a matter for the determination of a ministry of government. Quite often, it is forgotten that the court is an independent arm of the government of the country. The court decides what is to happen in the court, in the same way that the other two arms of government control their areas of operation.
I close by commending the many court reporters from the various media houses who have accurately and faithfully published reports of court proceedings in Jamaica over the years. They have been quite professional and have demonstrated good understanding of the proceedings, which they have in turn passed on to their readers and hearers. It is quite ingenious now for us to be hearing that the public does not understand what is being reported so the lawyers themselves must now come on air and on television to tell the public what they were saying in court.
Seymour Panton, OJ, CD
Retired President of the Court of Appeal
