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State's high court to Webcast oral arguments

Posted December 06, 2007 10:00 pm

Adriana Colindres

Beginning next month, the Illinois Supreme Court will add a new feature to its Internet site: audio and video recordings of oral arguments in the cases it hears.

The court announced Friday that the arguments should be available on its Web site - www.state.il.us/court - the day after they take place, or possibly even sooner.

"I'm very excited about this new technology," Chief Justice Robert Thomas said in a news release. "It will provide the parties with a record of their appearance before the Court, and it will help the public better understand what we do."

Supreme Court spokesman Joseph Tybor said in an interview that making oral arguments available online is "something the court has been interested in for some time."

Cameras have been installed for a few months in the Supreme Court's Springfield courtroom, where staff members from the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts have been testing them, Tybor said. Those staff members will control the three courtroom cameras from a separate recording room.

One camera is in the front of the courtroom and faces the attorneys. The other two are on a wall and in the rear of the courtroom.

"This is a Supreme Court that hasn't turned away from technology and hopes to use technology to enhance justice and to enhance the educational value of the system," Tybor said.

Audio files will be in the MP3 format, and a podcast feed will be available. Video files will be in the Windows Media format.

The Supreme Court redesigned its Web site a little more than a year ago, including some new features and making the existing ones - such as Supreme Court and appellate court opinions - easier to find. Adding oral arguments is part of the redesign and the effort to make ongoing improvements to the Web site.

Cynthia Cobbs, director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, said the Web site is an effective way to inform "judicial stakeholders" and the public. The administrative office's Judicial Management Information Services division coordinated installation of the audio and video recording system at the Supreme Court.

Springfield attorney Don Craven for years has worked with news organizations trying to get the Illinois Supreme Court's permission to use electronic recording equipment, such as television cameras, into trial courtrooms. Those efforts have fallen short so far.

News organizations seeking to record oral arguments at the Supreme Court or appellate court level may do so if they make a request at least five business days in advance.

"I think this is incremental progress," Craven said of the Supreme Court's plan to post oral arguments on the Web. "It's certainly progress."

Adriana Colindres can be reached at (217) 782-6292 or adriana.colindres@sj-r.com.

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