header-logo header-logo

Out in the open

03 March 2017 / Jon Robins
Issue: 7736 / Categories: Features , Profession
printer mail-detail
nlj_7736_robins

As the Open Justice Charter is launched in the UK, can we learn from our legal colleagues in the US, asks Jon Robins

At the end of last month the American lawyers who defended Steven Avery and featured in the groundbreaking documentary Making a Murderer lent their support to a new campaign calling for greater transparency and accountability in our justice system.

Cameras in courts

The ban on cameras in courts on this side of the Atlantic means a UK version of the Netflix hit is nigh on impossible. Over three of its 10 hours comprised trial footage. “That is more time than Dr Zhivago spent on the entire Russian Revolution,” according to Dean Strang who, along with Jerome Buting, acted for Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey.

The two lawyers argue that the presence of cameras in courts provides a powerful check on the justice system. “A judge who perceives that the public is watching wants to be on best behaviour,” Strang told MPs, lawyers, journalists and campaigners at a meeting

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll