The New York Times reports that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is considering the appropriateness of a trial court judge's decision to allow PBS's Frontline to film jury deliberations in a death-penalty case. (The trial--let alone jury deliberations--has not yet started; the appeals court halted jury selection for the trial.) This is not the first time that the issue has arisen: jury deliberations have been filmed in some criminal cases and slightly more civil cases already. (In fact, when I was taking a class on the jury in college, we watched a couple of videos to see what deliberations are like.) But this seems to be the first time that a judge has granted a film crew access to jury deliberations in a death-penalty case, and that difference has made both supporters and detractors take up arms.
The article can be found here.
UPDATE: The New York Times has posted an editorial opposing cameras in jury rooms.