by State District Judge Ted Poe is planning to allow cameras in the deliberation room of a capital murder trial. Read the story in the Houston Chronicle.
Judge Poe is known for his unconventional approach to jurisprudence and is very popular in his district and in the greater Houston area. However, in this case, he is simply in error.
Taping of deliberations for a judge’s review would be one thing. Filming for the purpose of creating a publicly available work inherently interferes with the integrity of the jury function.
The educational benefits of having this record available not withstanding, Prosecutor Diepraam’s well-justified concern that jurors “could fear retaliation from prosecution witnesses” is ample reason to disallow this practice.
