The Nation - News from Sept. 16, 1988

The U.S. Judicial Conference, the policy-making arm of the federal courts, has approved the videotaping of federal criminal trials as a two-year experiment--a move that sets the stage for broadcasters to demand the right to use the tapes on the air. At its semiannual closed meeting in Washington, the conference agreed to try to tape--as a formal record in place of a stenographer’s transcript--entire trials and appeal court hearings. Conference spokesman David Sellers, who disclosed Wednesday’s action to reporters, said the conference did not discuss the news media’s probable interest in using the tapes or what the courts would do if the media demands access.