Cameras to be allowed in Manitoba courts for first time

WINNIPEG – Cameras will be allowed to record three Manitoba court proceedings later this month as part of a pilot project.

The Manitoba Court of Appeal, the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench and the Manitoba Provincial Court are working together on the pilot, which will mark a first for Manitoba courts.

The foray into public broadcasting of court proceedings will start at 1 p.m. April 16, when cameras will be allowed to record Chief Justice Shane Perlmutter’s delivery of his decision in the second-degree murder trial of Cassandra Knott. Knott was charged with the second-degree murder of her husband at a Manitoba Housing complex in 2011.

The second case will be the April 30 appeal hearing for Denis Jerome Labossiere, who was found guilty by a jury of three counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of his parents and brother in 2005. The bodies of Fernand, 78, Rita, 74, and Remi Labossiere, 44, were found in their burned-out farmhouse in St. Leon, Man. Denis Labossiere was convicted in 2012 of hiring men to kill his family members but he sought an appeal.

The provincial court case slated for broadcast has not yet been announced. More details about the pilot project will be released at a news conference on Tuesday.

Until now people have only been able to see proceedings if they are in the courtroom, and the media has relied on sketch artists to provide hand-drawn images.

The proceedings where cameras will be allowed thus far are only a decision and an appeal, which means there will be no witnesses taking the stand.

The decision to allow the broadcast of a few court decisions was made based on a report from a committee that comprises two members of the media, a lawyers’ representative, court administrators, prosecutors, a Winnipeg police lawyer, a judge from each level of court and a Law Society of Manitoba representative.

The committee agreed that requests to broadcast court proceedings would be limited to the Court of Appeal and the delivery of reasons for judges’ decisions. That means broadcasting of full trials, as in the Oscar Pistorius case currently being broadcast from South Africa, will not be allowed.

“In other words the broadcast of hearings where testimony is given is not contemplated at this time,” say the guidelines for media audio and video recordings in the courtroom.

The decision to allow media recording of proceedings is in keeping with the principle of open courts, the guidelines say.

“While courts are open to the public, few members have the opportunity to attend those courts in person,” the guidelines say. “As such, most people rely on the media to tell them what happens. As a result, the media play an important role with regard to informing the public about the operation of the courts and the open court principle.”

The media will have to apply for permission to broadcast those court proceedings where cameras may be permitted.

“Any application for broadcast will be granted solely at the discretion of the presiding judge or, in the case of a proceeding in the Court of Appeal, of a chambers judge of that court,” the guidelines say. “The ultimate decision to allow or refuse any broadcast rests with the court.”