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United States · Bill · S

S. 410 (112th)

Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2011

openUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

17 February 2011

Last action

6 December 2011 · Committee

Status

Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts. Hearings held.

Sponsors

Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA], Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY], Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT], Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC], Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX], Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL], Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN], Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]

Subjects

Discovery layer

Source updated

10 August 2026

Official sourceDownload fileView documentsShare

Summary

Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2011 - Authorizes the presiding judge of a U.S. appellate court or U.S. district court to permit the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising to the public of court proceedings over which that judge presides, except when such action would constitute a violation of the due process rights of any party. Directs: (1) a district court, upon the request of any witness in a trial proceeding other than a party, to order the face and voice of the witness to be disguised or otherwise obscured to render the witness unrecognizable to the broadcast audience of the trial proceeding; and (2) the presiding judge in a trial proceeding to inform each witness who is not a party of the right to make such request. Authorizes the Judicial Conference of the United States to promulgate advisory guidelines to which a presiding judge may refer in making decisions regarding the management and administration of photographing, recording, broadcasting, or televising described in this Act. Requires the Judicial Conference to promulgate mandatory guidelines which a presiding judge must follow for obscuring certain vulnerable witnesses. Prohibits broadcast of conferences between attorneys and clients.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 17 February 2011

    Introduced

    Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S908-909)

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 17 February 2011

    Introduced

    Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S908)

    Source: IntroReferral

  3. 17 February 2011

    Introduced

    Introduced in Senate

    Source: IntroReferral

  4. 7 April 2011

    Calendars

    Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 27.

    Source: Calendars

  5. 7 April 2011

    Reported

    Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

    Source: Committee

  6. 7 April 2011

    Reported

    Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Leahy without amendment. Without written report.

    Source: Committee

  7. 6 December 2011

    Committee

    Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts. Hearings held.

    Source: Committee

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

Documents

6 official files

Reported to Senate (text)

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  • Reported to Senate (text)

    Reported to Senate · EN · 7 April 2011

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

  • Reported to Senate (PDF)

    Reported to Senate · EN · 7 April 2011

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

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  • Reported to Senate without amendment

    summary · EN · 7 April 2011

    Open at official source

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  • Introduced in Senate (text)

    Introduced in Senate · EN · 17 February 2011

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  • Introduced in Senate (PDF)

    Introduced in Senate · EN · 17 February 2011

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  • Introduced in Senate

    summary · EN · 17 February 2011

    Open at official source

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Sponsors

Related records

Sources

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