Alaska in Brief

Alaska courts consider rules for permanently streaming many hearings online

By: - March 7, 2023 8:12 pm

In this screenshot from the Alaska Court System, the participants in the legislative eligibility trial of Rep. David Eastman are seen on Dec. 21, 2022. The court system is considering permanent rules for streaming hearings and trials. (Screenshot)

The Alaska Court System is planning to continue video streaming many court hearings online despite the end of the COVID-19 emergency that prompted the first broadcasts.

The court system is taking public testimony on the proposal through March 17.

Alaska’s constitution requires public access to trials, and the court system’s streaming program began during the COVID-19 emergency as a way to allow hearings when members of the public were barred from attending in person.

“As we decide what pandemic-related practices were beneficial and should be continued, the court is interested in livestreaming some proceedings, even though courtrooms are open for public observation,” the court system said.

The proposed court rule allows the presiding judge to determine whether the case is important enough to merit online streaming. 

Cases that meet the importance standard include most felony criminal trials, proceedings that “involve important matters of health or safety, important matters relating to environmental, economic, or community wellbeing; and governmental matters including elections and redistricting.”

Confidential hearings would be exempt from streaming, as would cases about minors, unless those minors are being charged as adults.

Also blocked from streaming is “evidence that depicts graphic images including the bodies of deceased victims, or wounds or injuries.”

The court system would be responsible for streaming cases live from its website, and streams would not be recorded or available after the court date.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.

James Brooks
James Brooks

James Brooks is a longtime Alaska reporter, having previously worked at the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. A graduate of Virginia Tech, he is married to Caitlyn Ellis, owns a house in Juneau and has a small sled dog named Barley. He can be contacted at [email protected].

MORE FROM AUTHOR