BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE WILCOX TRIAL COURTROOM CAMERA
As many of you watch the proceedings of the David Wilcox Insurance Fraud Trial, there’s much more to just putting a camera in the courtroom … In April of this year, WFSB began discussions with the Judicial Branch’s External Affairs Department along with Judge Mullarkey to determine the logistics of placing a camera in Hartford Superior Court for the first time to cover a trial. This new option comes as part of the Pilot Program, to test the process of cameras covering trials. I met with Judge Mullarkey several times, along with attorney John Malone from the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office and Ray Hassett, David Wilcox’s attorney. We discussed the rules of what could be shot, what couldn’t be shot and many other logistics to help bring coverage of the trial to those who wanted to be part of the proceedings.
Certainly, one of the main items of discussion was protection of the identifications of the jurors. Judge Mullarkey set strict parameters for us to not show the jurors while the case was ongoing. Additionally, many of our staff members have been vital to bringing this case to you – live as it happens. Our web department who makes sure the video is up and running for the world to see and read, our assignment desk who assigns staff to cover the event, and members of our engineering department who ran about 200 feet of cable from inside the courtroom, out to the lobby, down a hallway, out a window and down the side of a building to our live truck. Last but not least, our photographer Mike Kopelman has been the dedicated photographer in the courtroom each day of the trial. Mike will tell you he’s not a lawyer, but he can certainly now give a good explanation of the trial and has gained lots of interesting information about insurance policies, etc. With that said, Mike is a great example of more open access to court. By having this access, Mike has learned alot from watching and listening. He’s become educated in an area that he didn’t have much background on and now he better understands our judicial system at work. This can be you… if you’re interested in our judicial branch of government at work; watch, listen, and learn. It’s an educational benefit – a much better opportunity than tuning into Law & Order.
Best, Dave Ward
