Court proceedings are intended to be open to the public as a way of ensuring accountability. In most cases, any one can walk into any court room and observe proceedings. The constitution guarantees the right to a "public trial" in the Sixth Amendment partly as a way ensuring that all proper laws and rules are followed during trial.
Courts in Collin County and throughout north Texas have continued to hold hearings through the use Zoom and other video conferencing and have worked to ensure the public nature of court proceedings through the use of YouTube. Collin County courts each have their own YouTube channels where any one from the public can go on and watch court proceedings. Courts throughout Texas are taking part in this practice and although it does present some challenges it does help to meet the goal of having public access to court proceedings. Slate.com has an interesting article regarding the various concerns and how those concerns are being addressed https://slate.com/technology/2020/08/zoom-courts-livestream-youtube.html. So anyone wanting to watch real court proceedings can now just tune into YouTube. |
AuthorMichael Diaz Archives
February 2023
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