Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2013
Latest action · Feb 28, 2013 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S1014-1015)
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 28, 2013
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2013 - Authorizes the presiding judge of a U.S. appellate court or U.S. district court to permit the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising to the public of court proceedings over which that judge presides, except when such action would constitute a violation of the due process rights of any party.
Directs: (1) a district court, upon the request of any witness in a trial proceeding other than a party, to order the face and voice of the witness to be disguised or otherwise obscured to render the witness unrecognizable to the broadcast audience of the trial proceeding; and (2) the presiding judge in a trial proceeding to inform each witness who is not a party of the right to make such request. Allows a presiding judge to obscure the face and voice of an individual if good cause is shown that photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising such features would threaten the individual's safety, the court's security, the integrity of future or ongoing law enforcement operations, or the interest of justice.
Prohibits a presiding judge from permitting the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising of any juror in a trial proceeding, or of the jury selection process.
Terminates a district court's authority under this Act three years after enactment of this Act.
Requires the Judicial Conference of the United States to promulgate mandatory guidelines which a presiding judge must follow for obscuring certain vulnerable witnesses.
Prohibits any audio pickup or broadcast of conferences which occur in a court proceeding between attorneys and their clients, co-counsel of a client, adverse counsel, or counsel and the presiding judge, if the conferences are not part of the official record of the proceedings.
Cosponsors 7
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 28, 2013 to Nov 19, 2013; 6 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Original | Feb 28, 2013 |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Original | Feb 28, 2013 |
| R-TX | John Cornyn | Original | Feb 28, 2013 |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | Original | Feb 28, 2013 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | Feb 28, 2013 |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Feb 28, 2013 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Nov 19, 2013 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Judiciary Committee | Referred Feb 28, 2013 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 28, 2013Introduced in Senate
- Feb 28, 2013Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S1014)
- Feb 28, 2013Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S1014-1015)
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S1014Text printed S1014 | Chuck Grassley R-IA (text) | Feb 28, 2013 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R44514 | Video Broadcasting from the Federal Courts: Issues for Congress Archived | Report | Oct 28, 2019 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 917 | Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2013 | Related bill | Dec 3, 2014 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to provide for media coverage of Federal court proceedings.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2013
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Law.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 28, 2013Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
