Video cameras captured a murder trial verdict in Manitoba Wednesday, as part of a pilot project aimed at increasing public access to the court system.
The accused, Cassandra Knott, was found not guilty of killing her husband. She had pleaded not guilty in her last trial, saying the 2011 stabbing was in self-defence.
A television camera was allowed to record only the judge as he read the verdict and a summary of his decision.
Knott, Crown and defence lawyers were never shown.
Justice Shane Perlmutter ruled that Knott had been abused by her husband, and had feared for her safety when she stabbed him in the chest on Feb. 18, 2011.
The initiative marked the first time the public was be able to watch a live broadcast of a Manitoba criminal court proceeding. Until now, the media relied on court sketches to provide depictions of the trials.
Cameras will also be allowed to broadcast a Court of Appeal proceeding later this month for Denis Labossiere, who was found guilty of killing his brother and parents in 2005.
For now, the cameras will only be able to capture a select number of cases without witness testimony, media lawyer Bob Sokalski told CTV Winnipeg.
“It’s very critical for the public who have this Charter right to access to the courts, to gain that access to cameras in the courtrooms of this country,” he said.
But others worry that cameras in the courts will make witnesses hesitant to testify.
“I understand that people want to know what’s happening inside a courtroom, however I haven’t really made up my mind, I’m a little concerned about it,” said Floyd Wiebe, whose son T.J was murdered in 2003.
And defence lawyer Greg Brodsky worries that too much media access may disrupt the court process.
“I’m not interested in the jury looking at cameras around the courtroom, or a witness looking at the camera by the bright lights -- I’m not sure that assists in the fact-finding process,” he told CTV Winnipeg.
Other Canadian courts already allow broadcasts, but Manitoba is going one step further by designating courtrooms where proceedings can be broadcast automatically.
“To the best of my knowledge, this is unique, having designated courtrooms, but more importantly having the presumption there that it will be broadcast, so people will have to have a very good reason to object to the broadcast,” Allan Fineblit of the Law Society of Manitoba told CTV Winnipeg.
Courts will assess whether to continue allowing camera access to courtrooms following the pilot project this month.
With files from CTV Winnipeg’s Daniella Ponticelli and Alesia Fieldberg and The Canadian Press
