No Tweeting in Federal Court November 9, 2009
A Federal Court has found that live tweeting courtroom events violates Rule 53 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which prohibits simultaneous broadcast of federal criminal proceedings.
Essentially, the court said that a twitter stream is equivalent to a broadcast. This doesn’t say anything about civil cases, but it’s a fair bet that judges just don’t want this going on in the courtroom.
Update: Dave O’Brien pointed out a few things on the civil-proceeding side of this…
Live tweeting and blogging from either state or federal court is potentially covered under the local court rules in each jurisdiction–regardless of whether it is a civil or criminal case. The usage of electronic devices is typically either prohibited or limited under these rules and is often left up to the discretion of the presiding Judge.
For instance, Local Rule 83(b) in the 8th Circuit notes:
“In the Northern District, computers, cell phones, and other portable communication devices are not permitted in courtrooms or their environs unless specifically authorized by an administrative order or other order of the court. If a computer, cell phone, or other portable communication device is permitted in a courtroom or its environs by an administrative order or other order of the court, it must be disabled from making an audible sound while in the courtroom or its environs.”
So, even though Fed. R. Crim. P. 53 was found to prohibit tweeting from court in federal criminal proceedings, tweeting during civil proceedings is still subject to some level of judicial scrutiny. There have been numerous instances since 2004 where journalists and bloggers have been permitted to cover both civil and criminal proceedings over a live blog or tweet stream in both federal and state courts. Still, the concept has yet to gain mainstream acceptance.
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