Attorneys decry prosecutor's private court camera view
Source: USA Today
A firestorm of criticism has erupted in Warren County after defense lawyers discovered that a live feed of their hearings and trials goes directly into Prosecutor David Fornshell's office across the hall.
The revelation came during a recent aggravated murder trial when a defense attorney complained that others were able to hear his confidential conversations with his client because they were being broadcast over a microphone in the courtroom.
SNIP...
"My exact term was, 'This is bullshit,' " defense attorney John Kaspar recalled of his reaction to Judge Robert Peeler telling him about the feed to the prosecutor's office during the trial in late July.
SNIP...
Fornshell, a Republican who was appointed prosecutor in 2011 and elected in 2012, said he has the same audio feed that is available in the media rooms that overlook the courtroom, and nothing more. He hasn't heard anything anybody else has been able to hear.
"They are acting like this is some secret surveillance
that they didn't know this audio was in there. This audio has been in (the media room) for a dozen years," Fornshell said.
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/15/courtroom-prosecutor-secret-courtroom-view/14108553/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories
Orwell in Robes for Cincinnati.