Letter of the day: Why is Minnesota judiciary camera-shy?

Your Aug. 5 article regarding the renewed effort to introduce cameras into the courtrooms in Minnesota piqued my interest as both a public defender and as a voting citizen. I fear, however, that it is an innovation that will never come to pass.

Last update: August 15, 2007 - 9:19 PM

The judiciary in Minnesota is acutely fearful of scrutiny. Take, for example, the Judicial Performance and Retention Survey that the Hennepin County Bar Association conducted yearly from 1991 through 2000, but then discontinued. It was no secret that the Hennepin County bench dreaded that evaluation and critique. More to the point, the judges have also long sought, albeit unsuccessfully, to change court rules and statutes that allow a party a one-time opportunity to strike a judge, no questions asked. The fear is that a campaign opponent might seize on that information for political gain.

In a state that has long prided itself on openness in government, it is a sad comment that one branch of government, a branch that should be consumer-oriented, is not only fearful of scrutiny, but is able to insulate itself from public accountability. Ask anyone who has been to court; they will tell you a tale of a long, long wait for a judge to take the bench or a tale of how the judge yelled or berated or humiliated some poor soul. Had there been cameras in the courtroom, the antics of retired Judge Harvey Ginsberg in Hennepin County and retired Judge R. Joseph Quinn in Anoka County, both of whom have had frequent and seismic eruptions while in court, would have been exposed long ago.

Cameras in the courtroom? A great idea that will never happen.

BRYAN J. LEARY, MINNETONKA; PUBLIC DEFENDER

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