Outside of Modesto, the Laci Peterson Murder Trial Isn't Very Newsworthy, But It Should Be Open to TV Cameras

Commentary by Richard Knee

Judge Al Girolami, of the Superior Court in Stanislaus County, has barred TV cameras from the forthcoming preliminary hearing in the case of Scott Peterson, who faces a double-murder charge in the deaths of his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son. I disagree with Judge Girolami's decision.

From the standpoint of news value, I don't think the Peterson case merits extensive coverage by any news organization, save in the Modesto area, where there is obviously local interest. Newsroom resources are thin, news space and air time are finite, and there are
stories and events that are of broader, deeper public consequence than the Petersons' tragedy.

Still, the question of whether to permit televising has First and Sixth Amendment implications. And, with all due respect to Judge Girolami, I believe those considerations weigh in favor of allowing cameras in his courtroom, absent any compelling reason to bar them.

On the Sixth Amendment issue, Judge Girolami acknowledged "a presumptive right of the public to attend the preliminary hearing," according to the story that Reuters carried Monday morning. But, he added, "that right does not mandate the presence of cameras in
the courtroom. Televising these passionate proceedings is not ... necessary to the process."

The main reason for barring cameras, Judge Girolami said, is to spare the victims' kin some pain. As quoted by Reuters, he said, "It involves members of the public who never asked to be involved in a high profile case and who would, under almost all other circumstances, retain significant privacy rights in having their likenesses broadcast over national television. It involves the victim's
families who will be forced to relive their worst nightmare in a very public way, which unfortunately is necessary to the process."

Because of previous, widespread coverage, Scott and Laci Peterson, their families, and many of their neighbors are already in the spotlight; their names and "likenesses" have appeared in newspapers and on TV across the country. The presence or absence of TV cameras at the hearing -- and at the subsequent trial, if there is one -- can't change that.

Nor is it likely that the presence of cameras would exacerbate the pain that those close to the Peterson couple will experience. Their
attention will be on the proceedings and on giving one another moral support, not on how they look on TV.

Richard Knee is a freelance journalist living in San Francisco. In March, the Northern CaliforniaChapter of the Society of Professional Journalists gave him its James Madison Award for his work on the San Francisco Sunshine Ordinance Task Force and his long-time advocacy for public access to government documents and decision-making. He is also a member of the Citizen's Advisory Board of Grade the News.

What do you think?