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Beginning January 1, 2015, media representatives may request to record and photograph hearings and trials in felony courtrooms at the 26th and California Leighton Criminal Building. Bond hearings, however, will not be subject to the initial pilot program. Cook County will join 40 other counties, which have already begun participation in the program. Click here to read the Illinois Supreme Court’s Press Release.

In yesterday’s press release, Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Garman said that, “The opening of Cook County criminal courtrooms to media cameras is a significant and a very welcome step in our efforts to bring greater transparency to the judicial process, while protecting the rights of the accused, witnesses, and jurors.”

The Chief Justice noted that the experience in the other circuits has been “overwhelmingly positive” so it logically follows that the program should be extended to the “most populous county in the state.” The Chief Justice is relying on Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and the media outlets in Chicagoland to “rise to the challenge” and implement the program as it was designed, to “protect both the public’ right to know and the rights of victims, jurors, and others to be shielded from unwanted publicity.”

Several of the Illinois Supreme Court Justices spoke out on the decision and their statements shared a common theme: transparency. Justice Burke noted “it’s good for the entire legal system as a means of increasing transparency, educating the public and informing citizens as to how our system actually works as opposed to sensationalized snippets they are exposed to on TV series and in the movies. Justice Theis “believe[s] that allowing cameras in Cook County courtrooms will allow the public to see how conscientious they are, and how justice is actually dispensed – not through the lens of movies and entertainment.

Chief Judge Evans echoed the Supreme Court Justices: “ I am extremely pleased that the public will hear and see through extended media coverage exactly what is taking place in Cook County courtrooms – this is a tremendous step forward to enhanced transparency and accountability at every level of the court system.

A step it may be. It may be a step in the right direction—a method of enhancing transparency— but do cameras in the courtroom address the root of the problem? Do cameras in the courtroom equate to justice on the streets? The administration of justice does not begin when you walk in a courtroom; it began long before you or I was born. If you’re an American it is a part of you, it is engrained in how you were raised, it is how you were taught to interact with law enforcement and what you are taught at school, it is what we teach our children at home, what our children see on TVs, on the streets, and in our own homes.

Transparency in the courtrooms, transparency on the streets: transparency is a hot topic right now. What do you think of cameras in the courtroom? Will it cause “sensationalized snippets” of justice? If you have any questions about your case or whether you’re next trip to the courtroom may be filmed, call Laura.