Sedgwick County District Judge David Kennedy ruled Friday that cameras and recording devices generally will be allowed in the courtroom related to the case against Elgin R.J. “Ray Ray” Robinson Jr., the 20-year-old charged with plotting the heinous murder of 14-year-old Chelsea Brooks to cover up the fact that she was nine months pregnant with his baby. That’s welcome news to citizens as well as media outlets. As demonstrated so dramatically recently in the cases of murderers Greg Moore and Dennis Rader, cameras provide a picture window into the judicial system that mere words can’t. Especially with judges under new scrutiny for their “activism” and otherwise, the more cameras in courtrooms, the better for justice generally.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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10 Comments
I wonder if this case will make the national jews-media, like that Duke rape hoax? Nah, I didn’t think so!
Viva La Revolucion Blanco!!!
Ok I will bite, in a sense it give people that have never seen a trial a chance to see our system in action. The down side is that it give a chance to see our system in action. My wife still talks about how foolish Nola seemed during the broadcast of the Carr brothers trial.
I still laugh sometime about the first time I watched Cspan and saw Robert Byrd.
Yes writerdawg, it will give pople the chance to see another shyster play the race card for his scumbag clients! I can just see it now; poor ray-ray was a victim of a racist society and he was poor. They will probably also claim mental retardation as a means to avoid a death sentence, pathetic.
V.L.R.B!!
Now folks , dont go all ape on me here, Im not going to be talking about adults who KIDNAP and FORCIBLY rape and torture 8 year olds. There is a difference in applications of laws vs. the actual incident.
But, Maybe this will cause some very serious rethinking of these “sexual predator” laws essentially ostracizing people for having consentual sex. Perhaps going back to the “statuatory rape” idea instead of life sentences for this. She told all her friends since she was 12 she was going to go out and BE with him. From all accounts she was not raped against her will per se. The paper said he told people he was afraid of being arrested for the predator type stuff. Im afraid these laws will result in more of this.
I would urge us baby boomers to relook at our “summer of love” in the 60’s etc and see where and what you and your wife/girlfriends were doing…?? What were you doing from 18-22 during college when you came home to see your “underage” (15-17) girlfriend.
Perhaps some of you 20-30 somethings can investigate the year you were conceived. Was your mom 18? Was you dad OVER 18? if so then he was a “sexual predator” perhaps he or both should be turned in and held accountable.
Phil Kline would be in hog heaven with this.
I would urge you parents with males 18 and over to warn them about the consequences now vs then, such things as making use the the Booth Memorial homes that were in Wichita at one time for unwed mothers etc. Used to be only societal ostracization, now its a life time of never getting a job and living in a cave.
I didn’t watch the BTK trial, but I did watch another “local” (Augusta) murder trial on Court TV. I (and my family) knew both the victim and the accused/murderer and also participated on the Court TV boards. (Man, those people are nuts!)
By the way, the sentence of guilty was CORRECT.
This one is hard for me, I have been involved in trials in the past and the difference between a closed trail with no cameras and an open trial with cameras is the difference between night and day.
Someone earlier said how dumb Nola looked in the Carr trial, well, i agree… Also in the BTK trial…
These attorneys tend to start to act and show them selves off rather than just sticking with the trail and the facts… they will try to stretch themselves out a bit to make themselves look good on the 10 o’clock news. give a good sound bite and all of that…
but i also do agree that it is a good look into the goings on in our courts… also give a look at the judges, always needed…
id say once you cut through the crap that both sides puts up to look good in front of the TV (example, Nola on the TV going, we caught him, ha ha ha), the trail will be a good one and he will be found guilty…
now what would be really cool is if they would televise his execution…
Camera do not belong in trial courtrooms. Period.
Tony said it: the presence of the cameras changes the process, in many subtle and not so subtle ways. Attorneys for both sides find themselves acutely aware of that big stupid eye in the corner. And the camera is a one-eyed monster; it DOESN’T show as much as it shows.
And our courtroom proceedings do not exist so that trailer trash nationwide have something to watch over their post toasties and beer.
The only way for cameras in the courtroom to be fair is for all the hearings to be broadcast without interruptions, so that the public sees EXACTLY what the court (or jury, if a jury trial) sees. But that won’t happen; there would be no commercial breaks for selling toothpaste.
And that’s what this is really about. The media doesn’t care about the “public interest,” they care about attracting viewers to sell advertising.
What else is new?
Cameras often tell a story that a transcript does not. Body language and facial expressions are very telling sometimes, especially when someone is lying. In a case of interest, such as “Ray Ray’s” trial, I believe the public has every right to watch the judicial process in action.
And, just for the record, I am one who disagrees about Nola. She has been thrown into the spotlight with two very publicized cases (Carr brothers and BTK), and I have always been pleased with the way she represented herself and the City of Wichita. Keep in mind, when they held the original press conference announcing Dennis Rader’s arrest, that Rader had already admitted to the crimes during questioning. Stop badmouthing Nola for not being a media darling and be thankful that she is a good prosecutor.
Nola is only a good prosecutor of those cases that an untrained monkey could win. Do you ever see her in court if it’s not a big media case with losts of press floating around? She’s nothing like Paul Morrison, for example, who tries cases consistently – win or lose. Nola is a hack who needs to be replaced.
I favor recording all courtroom activities. We need to update the record of the judicial branch to foster greater accountability to the people. From the indictment hearings to motions argued in chambers, these things need to be on record in a manner consistent with the times.