Major players on cameras in courts

From the Winter 2007 issue of The News Media & The Law, page 11.

The key figures who could play a part in bills to allow cameras in federal courts:

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has introduced a bill in the current Congress that would permit television coverage in the Supreme Court.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a supporter of cameras in courts bills.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), the former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, opposed a bill that would allow cameras into federal district or appellate courts.

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has supported permitting cameras in the federal courts.