Why I'm leery of televising the trial.

[cab67]

Trump’s threat of revenge raised the very strong possibility that the jurors’ lives would be in serious danger if they convict him.

Anything that raises the possibility of identifying them should get treated very carefully indeed.

I understand all of the reasons to televise, and I’d definitely watch if that happens, but I hope the televising is done with eyes open.

[marble falls]

1. I'm not. The stupid are already stupid. Sunshine is the best way.

[hlthe2b]

2. I believe the jury in the Derek Chauvin trial was kept off screen and thus anonymous

So, it CAN be done.

The judge has ordered that the cameras in the courtroom not show jurors' faces. Each of them is only identified by a number. “Everything else, because we have an anonymous jury, is remaining confidential,” Judge Peter Cahill said during selection on March 18.Mar 29, 2021

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/verify/verify-derek-chauvin-trial-george-floyd-death-jury-anonymous/507-52c79c6a-803e-4379-a6b5-b45b64fccf0c

[William769]

21. ...

[bucolic_frolic]

3. I agree with you. Television makes this a spectacle.

Recall the OJ trial. Application of the law is not a matter of public opinion. A trial is for a courtroom and all that implies.

[doc03]

9. This goes far beyond the decision by a jury. If it is not televised the public opinion will

shaped by the right-wing media. Even if Trump is convicted and sent to prison he could still be elected again.

[brush]

11. Recall the televised J6 Committee hearings which made the j6...

indictment and upcoming trial possible. Of course it has to be televised. The man tried to overthrow the government, which is of much more import than the OJ trial.

In fact, the two are in no way comparable.

[Raven123]

4. How about audio only broadcast?

[Scrivener7]

12. I think this might be a good compromise. I agree with the OP that any media has to

be treated like kryptonite if they are allowed into the courtroom.

Many in this thread are saying we have the means to protect the jury, but the more people who see them, the more chance they will be outed, and television crews increase that danger. If just one media person can be induced to provide information on those people, their lives are effectively over as they know them.

All that being said, I do think we need to either provide video or at least, as you suggest, audio.

[demigoddess]

23. put the camera on TFG only and broadcast the audio. With no mention of jury's identities.

[Scrivener7]

24. But do you see my point? It's not whether the jury is shown. It's the fact that

there are TV crews in the room. It hugely increases the numbers of people who see the jury. More people who can identify them to those who will pay a LOT for that kind of information.

I'm sure it can be done, but everyone involved has to be very cognizant of the dangers.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

25. There wouldn't need to be any TV crews in the room while court's in session.

[doc03]

5. If it is not televised a large part of the American public will never know the truth.

I don't see where the jurors would be put in any danger. Why would they have to show the jurors on TV?
If they have an opening for a juror in the Trump trial, I will gladly volunteer.

[Walleye]

6. I say televise it, Trump does not perform well in court. He is stripped naked

[stuck in the middle]

10. Oh, please no!

He is stripped naked

There are alternatives.

[Walleye]

13. I recoiled at that image myself. But that's the impression I get of him when he testifies

[magicarpet]

15. Rather than stripping trDUMPIE naked,...

.... could we have Story Daniels do a pencil drawing of a little mushroom and a rotund beached whale - and call it good ?

[Walleye]

17. Good one!

[cayugafalls]

18. For the sake of DU and our sanity we can let it lie with your description of the picture?

Just sayin'...I'm good now.

[Funtatlaguy]

7. This is no concern. The cameras used would be in fixed positions only

Showing the witness stand and attorney’s.
There would be no chance that the jury box would be televised.
This is the crime of our lifetimes.
It MUST be televised to have credibility in the minds of many Americans.

[Judi Lynn]

14. Thank you for making those points. I can't remember any real televised trial showing jurors.

[brush]

8. The government has the resources to protect witnesses and other...

participants in a televised trial...including the judge and court personnel.

We wouldn't have a J6 indictment if the J6 Committee hearings hadn't been televised. The nation needs to know the extent, complexity and large number of people involved in THE COUP ATTEMPT AGAINST THE US GOVERNMENT.

And they were all republicans, many appointed by trump.

The trial has to be televised as the nation has to bear witness tpwards this would-be dictator who has already said he will seek retribution.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

16. I want the trial of T2FIFG televised...

In order to hear the questions asked of witnesses, the testimonies that will be recorded, the reaction of the defendant for all the world to see. Yes, keep the camera off the jurors selected to hear the evidence. Keep their identities secret.

This is to say, is the Nuremberg trial of this generation. People died on January 6th. We witnessed this as it happened. We heard a despot utter words that riled a mob to attack the Capitol and stop the proceedings taking place in order to restore him to power. We read the tweets that said the despot was ANGRY that Mike Pence did not do the "right thing", thus calling him a COWARD. Then later on film telling the insurrectionists "We love you."

But what is fascinating, as the January 6th Committee pointed out so deftly with testimonies from the people within that despot's inner circle, the months long denial and planning pleading up to the insurrection. Then came the criminal referral to the DOJ. Enter Jack Smith and his expert team of investigators and lawyers ready to take on the case of this Century.

I want this to be televised in order for the truth to be heard that one Donald J. Trump plotted, partook in, and oversaw the utter destruction of this country's institutions that have held for 247 years. Never in the history of this country has one man wanted to overthrow the Government he wanted to stay in power of to control.

For in order for a wound to heal, it must first be cleaned out of the putrid decay that has festered within it.

[Talitha]

19. I want it televised - God knows we deserve it!!!

AFAIK, courtroom cameras don't show the jurors, so that won't be a problem. In fact I'd like for them to be visually protected by a 2-way mirror... they can see out but no one can see them.

However - we've earned the right to see the proceedings. I want to see Dump sweat, squirm, stew in his own juice, and have a public melt-down.

TBH I don't think the Judge would put up with any courtroom theatrics, either.

[Tommy Carcetti]

20. Televised trials rarely, if ever, show the jury's faces

Usually the angles are done to avoid any disclosure of their identities.

Like it or not, the Georgia trial will be televised.

[BlueIdaho]

22. If this is to be televised

He needs to be put in a cage in the courtroom. He is a danger to the constitution and the rule of law. I want to see him contained like the animal he is. Don’t tell me “He’s got rights.” So did the women he’s raped, the people he killed on our border, the people that died because he mishandled the Covid crisis, the people who died in the race riots he stoked across the country, and of course the people killed and maimed by the paramilitary forces he cheered on during the sedition.

He deserves to be treated like the monster he is.