Lawrence Marks

The Unified Court System is a large and complex government institution that impacts the lives of New Yorkers in countless ways. Despite that, relatively few New Yorkers have direct involvement with the courts or the legal process on a regular basis. Most who directly interact with the court system are those summoned for jury service, few of whom actually end up serving on a jury. A much smaller number interact with courts as participants in litigation.

Because there is such limited opportunity for the great majority of New Yorkers to directly interact with our justice system, much of what they learn about the courts comes from the media—newspapers, television, radio and, increasingly, social media. Because understanding and knowledge of the workings of the courts is critical to achieving public trust and confidence in our justice system, we rely heavily on news media to educate the public about what we do and how we operate. Thus, ensuring transparency in the operation of the courts requires cooperation between the courts and the news media.

To further that goal, the court system's Public Information Office works on a daily basis to provide information about the Unified Court System to both internal and external audiences, especially members of the press. The Office is responsible for preparing and distributing to local and statewide media outlets press releases and media advisories concerning court initiatives, programs and events, administrative appointments and other official announcements, and maintains the court system's social media accounts. The Office regularly fields questions about court cases, and often assists reporters in gaining physical access to court proceedings. It also assists the press in obtaining access to court files, caseload data and other relevant information about the courts. We fully recognize the vitally important role of the news media, and we strive to assist them in gaining access to the information they need.

Of course, the press is welcome and, indeed, have a constitutional right to attend and report on court proceedings. Notably, however, in contrast to many other jurisdictions, New York prohibits the broadcasting of witness testimony from trial courtrooms (see Civil Rights Law §52). Although several decades ago New York experimented with audio/visual coverage, including witness testimony, of most trial court proceedings subject to certain limitations, that legislation lapsed in 1997. For trial court proceedings that do not involve witness testimony, still photography and audio/video coverage are permitted at the discretion of the judge. The Court of Appeals and the four Appellate Division Departments are not subject to this prohibition because appellate proceedings do not involve testimony, and so each court live streams and archives appellate arguments on their respective webpages for public viewing. Additionally, in New York City and many courts outside of the City, photography and audio/video recording by accredited members of the media are allowed in common, non-courtroom areas of the courthouse, as long as such coverage does not undermine the safety and security of the public, the litigants or court staff.

In addition to the work of our Public Information Office, we seek to promote transparency through events such as the Chief Judge's annual State of Our Judiciary address. The State of Our Judiciary is our primary opportunity to provide the public with an accounting of the —what we are working on, what we have accomplished and where we need to improve. In addition, the annual report on the Chief Judge's Excellence Initiative and the Annual Report of the Chief Administrator of the Courts further detail programs, initiatives and services we offer to provide the highest quality of justice. We owe the public a fair and accurate reporting of what we do, and these publications better ensure that goal is achieved.

Complementing its reporting on the operations of the courts, the news media have an important role in promoting improvement and reform of the justice system. The press can be an invaluable vehicle for court leaders to speak directly to the public, explaining new ideas and programs and innovations we are implementing, or considering implementing, to improve the delivery of justice.

Of course, the court system can also take inspiration from the press. The press has been instrumental in identifying problems in the justice system, motivating the courts to develop new approaches and methods to adjudicate cases. Examples include: reporting on the ravages of the opioid epidemic, which spurred establishment of specialized courts to help address this crisis; highlighting that New York was one of only two states in the nation that set the age of criminal responsibility at 16, which resulted in the Unified Court System taking a lead role in promoting legislation to remedy this problematic anomaly; coverage of the plight of veterans in the justice system, which led to creation of veterans' courts that provide greater sensitivity to veterans' problems and provide services and programs; and, attention to the inequities of our bail system, which has led to the courts' greater use of alternatives to monetary bail, better ensuring that those who stand accused of a crime are not detained pretrial due to a lack of economic means.

These are just a few examples of how the press has helped to prod the Unified Court System to strive for excellence and provide a higher quality of justice. With the utmost regard to our obligation of transparency to the public, we recognize that an active and aggressive press helps to ensure a better system of justice. Fully cognizant of that, the Unified Court System is committed to assisting the press in all ways possible—even when it is critical of our operations—and to achieving the highest level of transparency.