On Nov. 6, a day most Americans were preoccupied by election news, a committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States rejected a proposal to permit cameras in our country’s federal courtrooms. They rejected the proposal even though 49 states and the District of Columbia have, for years, permitted at least some audio-visual coverage of state court proceedings. Here is how it happened:

A little over a year ago, anticipating the numerous, upcoming criminal trials of Donald Trump, our law firm submitted a “suggestion” to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on behalf of a large coalition of news media organizations, asking that it begin the process of amending Criminal Rule of Procedure 53. That rule currently prohibits “the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.” Our suggestion is available here.