The prospects for legislation that would clear the way to televise federal court proceedings brightened considerably last week when Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., a longtime proponent of the concept, was named chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Sen. Leahy’s immediate predecessor as the committee’s chairman, opposed letting cameras into federal courts. Industry sources credit Sen. Hatch for killing legislation last year that would have let cameras in by refusing to hold committee hearings on it, even though a version of the bill won the approval of the House.
In contrast, Sen. Leahy co-sponsored the legislation when it was reintroduced in the Senate last week.
“This has long been his view on the