Improving Access, One Step at a Time

The media and the judiciary are vastly different institutions with distinct and sometimes adversarial roles, as well as ethical restrictions that prevent judges from speaking freely. Thus, it is doubtful that reporters will ever have the same access to judges as they do to politicians, celebrities and other newsmakers.

Nevertheless, there are steps a reporter can take to open a line of communication with a judge. Carelli, who covered the courts for years, offers surprisingly simple advice: “Introduce yourself,” he says. “The judges are just human beings.”

While covering the Supreme Court, Carelli often encouraged reporters new to the beat to send letters of introduction to all nine justices. Most justices were receptive, he said, and some invited journalists to stop by chambers and say hello.

More simple advice from Carelli: Be physically present at the courthouse. “It’s very difficult for a reporter to have any kind of relationship with a judge if the reporter is going to be at the courthouse twice a year, and write a story on a federal court case five times a year,” he says.

Judges, too, can take steps to improve dialogue with reporters. According to Pirraglia, some judges have experimented with letting the media devise the guidelines under which they cover a proceeding, subject to the judge’s approval.

Reporters have proven worthy of that responsibility, he says. “Often, the reporters have come up with guidelines that are more strict than what the judge himself might have done.”

Such developments appear to be contributing to a trend in favor of greater media access to judges. While no official data is kept, Hengstler says fewer judges are adhering to a rigid rule against talking to reporters.

To accelerate that trend, the National Center for Courts and the Media trains judges on how to handle media requests, give interviews and deal with the pressures of a high-profile trial.

Perhaps the most ambitious suggestion comes from Pirraglia. “I’d like to see a journalist follow a judge around for a day, and vice versa, so that each can be educated about the other’s function,” he says. “I realize it would be expensive, but it’s worth it.

“Judges can have relationships with the press and still fulfill their institutional obligations — and in the process, better educate the public.”