Lawyer for Blake Wants No Cameras

Aiming to avoid the public spectacle of the O.J. Simpson murder trial, the defense attorney for actor Robert Blake said Sunday he will request that cameras be banned from the courtroom during Blake’s arraignment today on charges of murdering his wife.

“Our rationale is that witnesses might be affected,” said lawyer Harland W. Braun. “Unfortunately, in Los Angeles we have people who try to become jurors or witnesses in a big case. In the O.J. case, some of the witnesses became personalities.”

Blake, who was arrested last week on suspicion of murder in the May 2001 shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, is scheduled to be arraigned this morning in Van Nuys Superior Court.

Braun said he was optimistic that a judge will grant his request to ban cameras. He also said that he will make the same request at all future court proceedings.

“I think the judicial consensus is in our favor now,” Braun said. “To be quite frank, this case is different than a matter such as one involving government corruption, where there is a real public interest. This is a matter of public curiosity. There’s less need for the public to look at it live.”

After the Simpson trial, Los Angeles Superior Court judges weighed in repeatedly against televised proceedings, though their record over the intervening years has been mixed, said Kelli Sager, a 1st Amendment attorney.