As media took their seats for last Wednesday’s hearing for Mr. Simpson, a number of them brought in cell phone cameras and were snapping pictures inside the courtroom. A few also were using the phones to text out updates to their producers and editors. Cell phones in Nevada courts are not allowed during the court [...]

The idea of using a judicial officer to explain procedure and policy in the Clark County Courts has its roots in the Jeremy Strohmeyer murder case that culminated seven years ago. The cold-blooded nature of the crime, combined with the high profile appearance of defense attorney Leslie Abramson, who had just defended the Menendez brothers, [...]

Wednesday morning I was late, at least later than the past two days and arrived right at 7 a.m. Already a line of journalists was forming on the steps leading into the south entrance of the Regional Justice Center. As soon as I arrived, Howard Stier a producer at Entertainment Tonight approached me [...]

Last Sunday (Sept. 16) I went off to run some errands, do some work at the rent house, see a movie and perhaps take the kids to Apex to ride their bikes. I left the court’s cell phone on the nightstand and didn’t think much of it. The court is closed on Sunday and I [...]

My last substantive post was around May 9, 2007. On May 11, an event occurred that shocked a lot of people in the Las Vegas legal community. It was the sort of day that illustrates why government agencies must prepare for any communication crisis and demonstrates why disclosure is important, even [...]

Last month the Texas Supreme Court became the latest high court to offer video webcasts of oral arguments. This is positive step and further allows the judiciary to explain its important role in providing access to justice. In the Houston Chronicle’s Viewpoint Section Mark Trachtenberg agrees,
First, it allows for greater transparency of the court’s [...]

Todd Defren Tweeted me Tuesday on the subject of Waggoner-Edstrom, Microsoft and the briefing paper on Wired Contributing Editor Fred Vogelstein, but I’ve been too busy preparing people for interviews to write much about it.
To begin with, who hasn’t prepared an interview subject with a list of possible questions, the tone of those questions, the [...]

In a gripping account of the days following the Katrina Hurricane last year in New Orleans, Valerie Willard, Community Relations Director for the Louisiana Supreme Court told attendees at today’s final session for the 15th Conference of Court Public Information Officers about the struggles the court faced following the storm.
“We were stranded in the courthouse [...]

National Center for State Courts President Mary McQueen says as the public grows increasingly frustrated with the deliberate process courts and judges take to address critical public policy issues, the courts must stand ready to defend and explain the actions and decisions of judges.
McQueen, in an address to the 15th Conference of Court Public Information [...]

The Shift Communications manifesto on social media, blogging and other PR 2.0 essentials has caused quite a stir among communicators at the 15th Conference of Court Public Information Officers in Phoenix. It has been photocopied at least 50 times and people keep asking for copies to take back to their courts. Of course, [...]