• Administrative Order A-2015-07-B-Amended Administrative Order Designating Media Point of Contact and Public Information Office and Direction for Public Records Request.
• Notice– Filming within the Courthouse
• Rule 2.450 and Rule 2.451– Technological Coverage of Judicial Proceedings / Use of Electronic Devices

RULE 2.450. TECHNOLOGICAL COVERAGE OF JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS 

(a) Electronic and Still Photography Allowed. Subject at
all times to the authority of the presiding judge to: (i) control the conduct of proceedings before the court; (ii) ensure decorum and prevent distractions; and (iii) ensure the fair administration of
justice in the pending cause, electronic media and still photography coverage of public judicial proceedings in the appellate and trial courts of this state shall be allowed in accordance with the following standards of conduct and technology promulgated by the Supreme Court of Florida.

(b) Equipment and Personnel.

(1) At least 1 portable television camera, operated by
not more than 1 camera person, shall be permitted in any trial or appellate court proceeding. The number of permitted cameras shall be within the sound discretion and authority of the presiding judge.
(2) Not more than 1 still photographer, using not more
than 2 still cameras, shall be permitted in any proceeding in a trial or appellate court.
(3) Not more than 1 audio system for radio broadcast
purposes shall be permitted in any proceeding in a trial or appellate court. Audio pickup for all media purposes shall be accomplished from existing audio systems present in the court facility. If no technically suitable audio system exists in the court facility, microphones and related wiring essential for media purposes shall be unobtrusive and shall be located in places designated in advance of any proceeding by the chief judge of the judicial circuit or district
in which the court facility is located.
(4) Any “pooling” arrangements among the media
required by these limitations on equipment and personnel shall be the sole responsibility of the media without calling upon the presiding judge to mediate any dispute as to the appropriate media representative or equipment authorized to cover a particular proceeding. In the absence of advance media agreement on disputed equipment or personnel issues, the presiding judge shall exclude all
contesting media personnel from a proceeding.

(c) Sound and Light Criteria.

(1) Only television photographic and audio equipment
that does not produce distracting sound or light shall be used to cover judicial proceedings. No artificial lighting device of any kind shall be used in connection with the television camera.
(2) Only still camera equipment that does not produce
distracting sound or light shall be used to cover judicial
proceedings. No artificial lighting device of any kind shall be used in connection with a still camera.
(3) It shall be the affirmative duty of media personnel to
demonstrate to the presiding judge adequately in advance of any proceeding that the equipment sought to be used meets the sound and light criteria enunciated in this rule. A failure to obtain advance judicial approval for equipment shall preclude its use in any proceeding.

(d) Location of Equipment Personnel.

(1) Television camera equipment shall be positioned in
such location in the court facility as shall be designated by the chief judge of the judicial circuit or district in which such facility is
situated. The area designated shall provide reasonable access to coverage. If and when areas remote from the court facility that permit reasonable access to coverage are provided, all television camera and audio equipment shall be positioned only in such area. Videotape recording equipment that is not a component part of a television camera shall be located in an area remote from the court facility.
(2) A still camera photographer shall position himself or
herself in such location in the court facility as shall be designated by the chief judge of the judicial circuit or district in which such facility is situated. The area designated shall provide reasonable access to coverage. Still camera photographers shall assume a fixed position within the designated area and, once established in a shooting position, shall act so as not to call attention to themselves through further movement. Still camera photographers shall not be permitted to move about in order to obtain photographs of court proceedings.
(3) Broadcast media representatives shall not move
about the court facility while proceedings are in session, and
microphones or taping equipment once positioned as required by subdivision (b)(3) shall not be moved during the pendency of the
proceeding.

(e) Movement During Proceedings. News media
photographic or audio equipment shall not be placed in or removed from the court facility except before commencement or after adjournment of proceedings each day, or during a recess. Neither television film magazines nor still camera film or lenses shall be changed within a court facility except during a recess in the proceeding.

(f) Courtroom Light Sources. With the concurrence of the
chief judge of a judicial circuit or district in which a court facility is
situated, modifications and additions may be made in light sources
existing in the facility, provided such modifications or additions are installed and maintained without public expense.

(g) Conferences of Counsel. To protect the attorney-client
privilege and the effective right to counsel, there shall be no audio
pickup or broadcast of conferences that occur in a court facility
between attorneys and their clients, between co-counsel of a client,
or between counsel and the presiding judge held at the bench.

(h) Impermissible Use of Media Material. None of the film,
videotape, still photographs, or audio reproductions developed
during or by virtue of coverage of a judicial proceeding shall be
admissible as evidence in the proceeding out of which it arose, in
any proceeding subsequent or collateral thereto, or upon retrial or
appeal of such proceedings.

(i) Appellate Review. Review of an order excluding the
electronic media from access to any proceeding, excluding coverage of a particular participant, or upon any other matters arising under these standards shall be pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.100(d).

Court Commentary

1994 Amendment. This rule was copied from Canon 3A(7) of
the Code of Judicial Conduct. Canon 3A(7) represented a departure from former Canon 3A(7) [ABA Canon 35]. The former canon generally proscribed electronic media and still photography
coverage of judicial proceedings from within and in areas
immediately adjacent to the courtroom, with three categories of
exceptions — (a) use for judicial administration, (b) coverage of
investitive, ceremonial, and naturalization proceedings, and (c) use for instructional purposes in educational institutions. Subject to the limitations and promulgation of standards as mentioned
therein, the revised canon constituted a general authorization for
electronic media and still photography coverage for all purposes,
including the purposes expressed as exceptions in the former
canon. Limited only by the authority of the presiding judge in the
exercise of sound discretion to prohibit filming or photographing of particular participants, consent of participants to coverage is not required. The text of the rule refers to public judicial proceedings. This is in recognition of the authority reposing in the presiding judge, upon the exercise of sound discretion, to hold certain judicial proceedings or portions thereof in camera, and in recognition of the fact that certain proceedings or portions thereof are made confidential by statute. The term “presiding judge” includes the chief judge of an appellate tribunal.

RULE 2.451. USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES

(a) Electronic Devices Defined. An electronic device is any
device capable of making or transmitting still or moving
photographs, video recordings, or images of any kind; any device
capable of creating, transmitting, or receiving text or data; and any device capable of receiving, transmitting, or recording sound.
Electronic devices include, without limitation, film cameras, digital cameras, video cameras, any other type of camera, cellular
telephones, tape recorders, digital voice recorders, any other type of audio recorders, laptop computers, personal digital assistants, or other similar technological devices with the ability to make or
transmit video recordings, audio recordings, images, text, or data.

(b) Use of Electronic Devices by Jurors During Proceedings Conducted In Person. If jurors participate in a court proceeding in person, the following provisions govern:
(1) Electronic devices may be removed as directed by
the presiding judge from all members of a jury panel at any time before deliberations, but such electronic devices must be removed from all members of a jury panel before jury deliberations begin. The electronic devices will be removed and appropriately secured by the bailiff or other person designated by the chief judge.
(2) Any electronic devices removed from members of a
jury panel may be returned to the members of the jury panel during recesses in the trial. When jurors are sequestered, the presiding judge may determine whether the electronic devices will be removed from jurors during any portion of sequestration.
(3) From the time a person reports for jury service until
the person is discharged from jury service, that person is prohibited from using electronic devices for any of the following purposes:

(A) making or transmitting still or moving
photographs, audio recordings, video recordings, or images of any kind of the court proceedings;
(B) transmitting or accessing text or data during
the court proceedings;
(C) transmitting or accessing text or data about
the case on which the juror is serving;
(D) researching, transmitting, or accessing
information about the case on which the juror is serving;
(E) otherwise communicating about the case on
which the juror is serving; or
(F) otherwise communicating about the jury
deliberations.

(4) Nothing in this rule is to be construed to limit or
impair the authority of a chief judge or presiding judge to grant permission to a juror to retain his or her electronic device during trial proceedings.
(5) The jury summons mailed to prospective jurors
should contain a notice that electronic devices will be removed from all members of a jury panel before jury deliberations begin and as directed by the presiding judge, may be removed at other stages of a trial. At the beginning of the trial, the presiding judge should advise the jury panel about the removal of electronic devices.

(c) Use of Electronic Devices by Jurors During
Proceedings Conducted by Audio-Video Communication
Technology. When prospective jurors participate in voir dire or
empaneled jurors participate in a trial through audio-video
communication technology as described in rule 2.530(c) and
authorized by another rule of procedure, the following provisions
govern:

(1) Presiding judges should ensure that the prospective
and empaneled jurors have the technical ability and means
necessary to connect to and participate in the court proceeding.
(2) Prospective and empaneled jurors may not use an
electronic device during a court proceeding, except for the sole purpose of participating in the court proceeding, unless otherwise authorized by the presiding judge. When empaneled jurors are sequestered, the presiding judge may determine whether any electronic devices may be used by those jurors during any portion of sequestration.
(3) Prospective and empaneled jurors are subject to the
prohibitions specified in subdivision (b)(3).
(4) Nothing in this rule is to be construed to limit or
impair the authority of a chief judge or presiding judge to grant permission to a prospective or an empaneled juror to use his or her electronic device during a court proceeding.
(5) The jury summons mailed to prospective jurors who
may participate in voir dire or trial through audio-video
communication technology should contain a notice indicating that electronic devices may not be used during those court proceedings except for the sole purpose of participating in the court proceeding, unless otherwise authorized by the presiding judge. The summons
should also indicate that the use of electronic devices may be prohibited by a presiding judge during a period of sequestration. At the beginning of voir dire and trial, the presiding judge should advise the prospective and empaneled jurors about the prohibition
against using electronic devices during the court proceeding for any purpose other than participating in the court proceeding.

(d) Use of Electronic Devices by Others.

(1) The use of electronic devices in a courtroom is
subject at all times to the authority of the presiding judge or quasi-judicial officer to

(A) control the conduct of proceedings before the
court;
(B) ensure decorum and prevent distractions; and
(C) ensure the fair administration of justice in the
pending cause.

(2) The use of electronic devices in a courthouse or
court facility is subject at all times to the authority of the chief judge to

(A) ensure decorum and prevent distractions;
(B) ensure the fair administration of justice; and
(C) preserve court security.

Committee Note

2013 Adoption. Subdivision (c), Use of Electronic Devices by
Others, parallels Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial
Administration 2.450(a) regarding the use of electronic devices by
the media.