Courthouse Rules Are One Thing, Secrecy Is Another

Gone but not forgotten, the O.J. Simpson trials, criminal and civil, continue to haunt the media and the legal system.

High-minded critics figured they would go away. But the trials were such a defining moment for press, bench and bar that commentators measure each sensational case against the Simpson standard. The Simpson case’s high ratings intensified television’s craving for hot trials. Please, say news directors, appealing to the great god of news, make this case another Simpson.

But the judges are still traumatized by the journalistic mob that occupied the downtown Los Angeles Criminal Courts Building during the murder trial and, to a lesser extent, the Santa Monica courthouse for the civil trial. They also remember how Judge Lance A. Ito was beat up in the press.

Judges, being judges, can do something about their fears. As a result, Los Angeles County judges are considering a strict set of rules for journalists covering courthouses.

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First of all, press passes issued by law enforcement agencies would have to be “worn at all times” in the courthouse. No exceptions are made under the rule. Presumably, I would have to wear my police pass even when I was on jury duty or if I ducked into the courthouse for a cup of coffee in the snack bar, warning people of my presence.

The rule makes no sense. In big cases, such as Simpson, reporters wear their passes without objection. Passes are required for admission to crowded courtrooms and to meet security requirements.

But as Kelli Sager, an attorney representing several news organizations, including The Times, said in a letter to the judges, “Reporters, like any member of the general public, may attend court proceedings or otherwise be present in a county building and as a general rule, there is no reason to require them to wear identification that is not required by the general public.”

Another proposed rule is even more extreme.

Unless there is written permission from the judges, “media coverage is not permitted in any part of the courthouse, including but not limited to entrances, exits, halls, stairs, escalators, elevators and courtrooms.” The only exception to this rule would be the downtown Central Courthouse pressroom and specific areas “designated by the presiding judge or district supervising judge” for interviews and press conferences.

But where, asked Douglas E. Mirell, another attorney representing media organizations, do courthouse exits and entrances begin? Is the sidewalk in front of the Criminal Courts Building part of the entrance? What about the plaza in front of the civil courts building?

Last week, I discussed the issue with Superior Court Judges James A. Bascue and Robert H. O’Brien, influential judges who serve on the judicial committees writing the final rules. Bascue was supervising judge of the criminal courts during the Simpson murder trial.

The judges told me that, although judicial regulations restrict journalists’ conduct inside the courtroom, there aren’t rules for outside the courtroom in the courthouses downtown or in other parts of the county.

“We don’t have a uniform rule for the entire county,” said Judge O’Brien. The rules “permit judges to control their courtrooms, but what about the courthouse?” said Judge Bascue. It’s good for the media, he said. Uniform rules “would afford you some protection.” From what wasn’t clear.

Both judges said the proposed rules were works in progress, and the committees may change them. I hope so. If whatever the committees endorse is then approved by a majority of the judges, they would take effect Jan. 1.

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There are judges--and I don’t mean Bascue and O’Brien--who would just as soon not have the press nosing around the courthouses. They feel the courts are the private preserve of judges and lawyers.

We journalists, however, provide the public’s only source of news for what’s going on in the courts.

Remember, there’s more to covering the courts than sitting in a courtroom. I want to be able to talk to lawyers, plaintiffs and defendants in the courthouse, without having to get written permission from the presiding judge. I have a right to talk to them--and they have a right to talk to me.

These proposed rules, in fact, go further than trying to assure decorum in the courthouse. They use the Simpson trial as an excuse to shield judges and the judicial process from scrutiny by the media and the public.

No other branch of government can shield itself in this manner. Judges are elected officials. Why do they deserve such a break?