Court rules out cameras for possible Ramsey pretrial hearings

COLORADO–A district court judge ruled in early May that no television cameras will be allowed in any initial courtroom proceedings in the JonBenet Ramsey case.

Judge Roxanne Bailin denied an advance request by four Denver television stations to allow television cameras into the courtroom during possible pretrial proceedings after the grand jury investigating the case returns any indictments. The judge found that the request for cameras access was premature because no indictments are known to be forthcoming.

The judge also found that if an indictment is handed down, the parties involved would have trouble receiving a fair trial with cameras in the courtroom, particularly in light of the extensive media coverage that the case has already received.

The initial request for access was made by Denver’s KCNC-TV, which speculated that the grand jury would soon be returning indictments against the parents, who police have said are under an “umbrella of suspicion” in the murder of their daughter.