An argument for television in the civil courtroom

Some of the materials used in this article were originally gathered for the purpose of gaining permission for University of Wisconsin's WHA-TV to televise the proceedings of the trial of Jane C. Braun, et al vs. the City of Madison, Otto Festge, Mayor of the City of Madison, et al. Although Dane County Circuit Court Judge Edwin M. Wilkie found "that such telecasting of judicial proceedings in this case under the plan outlined by Station WHA and the control of the trial court would be accomplished without disrupting such judicial proceedings and without prejudicing the rights of the parties in that the equipment used, including cameras, microphones, and other electronic equipment would be unobstrusively placed and would not interfere with orderly court procedure or have a psychological effect upon participants in the trial . . . that it would not in any respect encroach upon full and fair trial of the case and would not result in the reproduction or telecast of court proceedings to the public in such way as to affect the result of the trial conducted before the presiding judge sitting as the court without a jury . . ."; nevertheless, the Estes decision was cited as the determining reason for not permitting WHA-TV to broadcast the trial.