,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #dje  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,february #bh1 #bjac
 ,mr4 ,grassley 7for himself1 ,mr4      
,schumer1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 ,mr4 ,cornyn1    
,mr4 ,durbin1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 and ,mr4 
,blumenthal7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a 
,,bill  ,to provide for media coverage  
of ,federal court proceedings4  #a4     
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,sunshine in the ,courtroom ,act of 
#bjac4  #b4 ,federal appellate and      
district courts  7a7 ,definitions ,in   
this section3  7#a7 ,presiding judge    
,the term presiding judge means the     
judge presiding over the court          
proceeding concerned4 ,in proceedings in
 which more than #a judge participates1 
the presiding judge shall be the senior 
active judge so participating or1 in the
 case of a circuit court of appeals1 the
 senior active circuit judge so         
participating1 except that--  7,a7 in en

 banc sittings of any ,united ,states   
circuit court of appeals1 the presiding 
judge shall be the chief judge of the   
circuit whenever the chief judge        
participates2 and  7,b7 in en banc      
sittings of the ,supreme ,court of the  
,united ,states1 the presiding judge    
shall be the ,chief ,justice whenever   
the ,chief ,justice participates4  7#b7 
,appellate court of the united states   
,the term appellate court of the ,united
 ,states means any ,united ,states      
circuit court of appeals and the        
,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states4 
7b7 ,authority of presiding judge ,to   
allow media coverage of court           
proceedings  7#a7 ,authority of         
appellate courts  7,a7 ,in general      
,except as provided under subparagraph  
7,b71 the presiding judge of an         
appellate court of the ,united ,states  
may1 at the discretion of that judge1   
permit the photographing1 electronic    
recording1 broadcasting1 or televising  
to the public of any court proceeding   

over which that judge presides4  7,b7   
,exception ,the presiding judge shall   
not permit any action under subparagraph
 7,a71 if--  7i7 in the case of a       
proceeding involving only the presiding 
judge1 that judge determines the action 
would constitute a violation of the due 
process rights of any party2 or  7ii7 in
 the case of a proceeding involving the 
participation of more than #a judge1 a  
majority of the judges participating    
determine that the action would         
constitute a violation of the due       
process rights of any party4  7#b7      
,authority of district courts  7,a7 ,in 
general  7i7 ,authority ,notwithstanding
 any other provision of law1 except as  
provided under clause 7iii71 the        
presiding judge of a district court of  
the ,united ,states may1 at the         
discretion of that judge1 permit the    
photographing1 electronic recording1    
broadcasting1 or televising to the      
public of any court proceeding over     
which that judge presides4  7ii7        

,obscuring of witnesses ,except as      
provided under clause 7iii7--  7,i7 upon
 the request of any witness 7other than 
a party7 in a trial proceeding1 the     
court shall order the face and voice of 
the witness to be disguised or otherwise
 obscured in such manner as to render   
the witness unrecognizable to the       
broadcast audience of the trial         
proceeding2 and  7,,ii7 the presiding   
judge in a trial proceeding shall inform
 each witness who is not a party that   
the witness has the right to request the
 image and voice of that witness to be  
obscured during the witness' testimony4 
7iii7 ,exception ,the presiding judge   
shall not permit any action under this  
subparagraph--  7,i7 if that judge      
determines the action would constitute a
 violation of the due process rights of 
any party2 and  7,,ii7 until the        
,judicial ,conference of the ,united    
,states promulgates mandatory guidelines
 under paragraph 7#e74  7,b7 ,no media  
coverage of jurors ,the presiding judge 

shall not permit the photographing1     
electronic recording1 broadcasting1 or  
televising of any juror in a trial      
proceeding1 or of the jury selection    
process4  7,c7 ,discretion of the judge 
,the presiding judge shall have the     
discretion to obscure the face and voice
 of an individual1 if good cause is     
shown that the photographing1 electronic
 recording1 broadcasting1 or televising 
of the individual would threaten--  7i7 
the safety of the individual2  7ii7 the 
security of the court2  7iii7 the       
integrity of future or ongoing law      
enforcement operations2 or  7iv7 the    
interest of justice4  7,d7 ,sunset of   
district court authority ,the authority 
under this paragraph shall terminate #c 
years after the date of the enactment of
 this ,act4  7#c7 ,interlocutory appeals
 barred ,the decision of the presiding  
judge under this subsection of whether  
or not to permit1 deny1 or terminate the
 photographing1 electronic recording1   
broadcasting1 or televising of a court  

proceeding may not be challenged through
 an interlocutory appeal4  7#d7         
,advisory ,guidelines ,the ,judicial    
,conference of the ,united ,states may  
promulgate advisory guidelines to which 
a presiding judge1 at the discretion of 
that judge1 may refer in making         
decisions with respect to the management
 and administration of photographing1   
recording1 broadcasting1 or televising  
described under paragraphs 7#a7 and     
7#b74  7#e7 ,mandatory guidelines ,not  
later than #f months after the date of  
enactment of this ,act1 the ,judicial   
,conference of the ,united ,states shall
 promulgate mandatory guidelines which a
 presiding judge is required to follow  
for obscuring of certain vulnerable     
witnesses1 including crime victims1     
minor victims1 families of victims1     
cooperating witnesses1 undercover law   
enforcement officers or agents1         
witnesses subject to section #ceba of   
title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1       
relating to witness relocation and      

protection1 or minors under the age of  
#ah years4 ,the guidelines shall include
 procedures for determining1 at the     
earliest practicable time in any        
investigation or case1 which witnesses  
should be considered vulnerable under   
this section4  7#f7 ,procedures ,in the 
interests of justice and fairness1 the  
presiding judge of the court in which   
media use is desired has discretion to  
promulgate rules and disciplinary       
measures for the courtroom use of any   
form of media or media equipment and the
 acquisition or distribution of any of  
the images or sounds obtained in the    
courtroom4 ,the presiding judge shall   
also have discretion to require written 
acknowledgment of the rules by anyone   
individually or on behalf of any entity 
before being allowed to acquire any     
images or sounds from the courtroom4    
7#g7 ,no broadcast of conferences       
between attorneys and clients ,there    
shall be no audio pickup or broadcast of
 conferences which occur in a court     

proceeding between attorneys and their  
clients1 between co-counsel of a client1
 between adverse counsel1 or between    
counsel and the presiding judge1 if the 
conferences are not part of the official
 record of the proceedings4  7#h7       
,expenses ,a court may require that any 
accommodations to effectuate this ,act  
be made without public expense4  7#i7   
,inherent authority ,nothing in this    
,act shall limit the inherent authority 
of a court to protect witnesses or clear
 the courtroom to preserve the decorum  
and integrity of the legal process or   
protect the safety of an individual4