When they were moot court partners at the University of Florida law school, Ashleigh and John Merchant probably didn’t imagine the tricky issue they’ve faced together in real court: fighting for access to audio and video recordings from courtrooms.
In one Cobb County case, they received courtroom video and heard a judge apparently discussing the state’s strategy in presenting witnesses, without defense lawyers present. At one point, he told prosecutors, “Well, hopefully this jury does the right thing. Had some unusual cases lately.”
