State of Florida vs. Casey Marie Anthony
Case Number 48-2008-CF-015606-O
The following has been prepared to ensure full access without compromising the right of the litigant to a fair and orderly trial. It is the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court’s goal to ensure that the media and general public are accommodated to the best of the Court’s/County’s/City’s abilities during this special interest/high profile proceeding. Check this webpage often for any updates related to this case.
Media Administrative Orders
Please review Amended Administrative Order 07-96-19 Governing Special Interest/High Profile Proceedings signed by Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Jr. Also, review Rule 2.450 of the Rules of Judicial Administration, Standards of Conduct and Technology Governing Electronic Media and Still Photography Coverage of Judicial Proceedings. These may be found on the Media Policies webpage. Please note that these orders and any orders issued by Judge Perry will be strictly enforced.
Courtroom
The Roger A. Barker Courtroom on the 23rd Floor of the Orange County Courthouse will be used for the State vs. Casey Anthony trial. Reserved courtroom seating will be provided on a limited basis for members of the media who possess a court issued credential AND a seating pass.
In Session and the Orlando Sentinel will be providing the video and still pool feeds for media coverage of this trial. No additional cameras will be permitted to be used in the courtroom. Cell phones are allowed in the courtroom, however use of cell phone cameras is prohibited. Cell phones must be placed in the vibrate or off mode. Media are allowed to use their cell phones for sending and receiving written, electronic information only. They are not to be used for telephone calls. No other devices capable of taking pictures or capturing sound may be operated inside the courtroom. Such devices include, but are not limited to, cell phones, cameras, digital voice recorders or similar technical devices. A person who operates a non-approved device will have the device confiscated by court security and may be held in contempt of court.
Due to the distractive nature of the keyboards, laptop use will not be permitted in the courtroom. Devices with virtual keyboards such as IPads as well as Blackberrys and other data phones for text transmissions will be permitted. These may only be used by court credentialed media in designated media seats provided they are not distractive. Power for these devices will not be provided in the courtroom. Members of the general public or anyone sitting in seats designated for the public will not be permitted to use any of these devices.
Courtroom Opening/Closing
The trial will begin daily at 9:00 a.m and the schedule is subject to change. The court deputy will open the courtroom for all media and general public. Court is expected to proceed Monday through Friday and half-days on Saturday. The courtroom will be made available to the pool media before the proceeding for installation and power-up of equipment.
23rd Floor Public Area
For the purposes of this trial, the courtroom rules and procedures have been extended to the 23rd floor lobby. Therefore, no cameras or recording devices can be used in this area and loitering in this area will not be permitted by media or members of the public. A single pool video camera and a single still camera will be allowed in the public area for coverage of ingress & egress to the courtroom. Assignment of these pool positions and sharing of taped footage/photos is the sole responsibility of the media.
Media Rooms
The court has designated two areas to serve as media rooms for the duration of the State vs. Casey Anthony case.
The media room, located on the second floor of the Orange County Courthouse (room 230), offers limited work space (6 seats) with the ability to monitor and record the pool feed from the courtroom. The video signal is composite and audio is at microphone level.
You will need BNC and one XLR cables to connect. Power is available.
The room seats 6 media representatives. Access to the room is on a first-come, first served basis. Member of the Media must possess a court-issued credential to access this room. The media room will be open during normal working hours to authorized media personnel. Use of laptops, cell phones and other devices is permitted.
In addition, the Judicial Conference Room on the 23rd Floor has been designated as a media room for the duration of the case. However, this room is for viewing only. Media will not have access to signal (no recording available). Use of laptops and cell phones is permitted in this media room and power is available. Eating and drinking will not be permitted in this room. Access to this media room is limited and requires a court-issued credential. The room will be open during normal business hours to authorized media personnel only.
Wireless Internet Access
Wireless internet access is available throughout the Orange County Courthouse. The service is free and available to the public. For additional information please view the court’s website at http://www.ninthcircuit.org/programs-services/technology-services/Wireless_Internet.shtml
The Courthouse WiFi bandwidth is limited so it is highly suggested that you provide your own Aircard to receive uninterupted WiFi Service.
Credentials/ Seating Passes/Decorum
All media representatives are required to display a court-issued media credentials at all times when on the 23rd floor. Information concerning obtaining court-issued credentials can be found online here. Lost or stolen credentials should be reported to Jeff Pierce at 407-222-0250.
Court-issued credentials cannot be transferred to other media personnel. Loaning another individual your court-issued credential will result in loss of media privileges for this trial.
All media representative entering the courtroom will be required to possess and display a seating pass along with their court-issued media credential. Issuance of seating passes will be based on availability and is still to be determined. Check the court’s website for updates.
Seating passes can be transferred between media personnel. Lost or stolen seating passes should be reported to Jeff Pierce at 407-222-0250.
Please note that the courtroom will be cleared during the lunch break. To return to your seat after the lunch break you will be required to show your court-issued credential and seating pass. Media personnel should avoid leaving the courtroom while court is in session. Periodic recesses will be given.
Members of the media are requested to dress appropriately. No chewing gum, please. No food or drink. While in the courtroom, please place all cell phones/pagers in vibrate or off mode. Anyone who fails to maintain decorum will be immediately removed the courtroom and could lose media privileges for this trial.
Security
Representatives of the media are permitted to enter through the side “loading dock” entrance of the courthouse as well as the main front entrance. Security personnel will scan all media representatives and equipment on entering the courthouse building and may require additional checks before entering the courtroom. Knives, screwdrivers, nail files and the like will not be permitted in the building. Please allow sufficient time to go through security.
All media shall comply with the instructions of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the City of Orlando Police Department.
Interviews
For the purposes of this trial, the courtroom rules and procedures have been extended to the 23rd floor lobby. There will be no media interviews conducted on the 23rd floor. Interviews cannot be conducted in the open lounge area or in any area of the courthouse that is primarily used for ingress or egress. Media personnel should not interfere with the safety, security or movement of persons in hallways, doorways, elevators, etc.
Outside interviews will be permitted on the plaza. However, interviews should not block pedestrian flow. Further, no interviews will be permitted on the courthouse steps.
Video Pool Feed
The audio/video pool signal will be available for recording in the media room on the 2nd floor (room #230) and across the street at the distribution panel provided by In Session. Signal will also be accessible via satellite (contact In Session for satellite coordinates). The pool signal can be viewed in both media rooms (room #230 and the 23rd floor media room). At the request of local media, pool signal will not be available at the media pedestal on Orange Avenue except for one feed for the uplink truck.
Still Photography Pool
Still photos from the trial of the State vs.Casey Anthony will be available for credentialed media covering the trial.
The photos will be updated through the day during the course of the trial. They will have captions and will be grouped into sets based on date. The photos appear on the Flickr site first so no media group will have a jump on another. Per the Orlando Sentinel, the photos are intended for use by your media organization only. They are not to be resold.
Tom Burton of the Orlando Sentinel is the contact for still photographs. His contacts are tburtonw@orlandosentinel.com and 321-663-9257.
Parking
Media parking in the semi-circle in front of the Orange County Courthouse is very limited. At the request of local media, all media parking in the semi circle should only be for non Casey Anthony events. For this reason, the media feed for State vs. Casey Anthony will not be routed to the media pedestal for general media use. No media vehicles should be parked in the semi-circle to cover the Casey Anthony trial other than the pre-approved Insession "Pool Truck."
Metered parking spaces can be rented through the City of Orlando by calling, 407-246-2155 or visit www.cityoforlando.net/parking Note: The City of Orlando prohibits cabling across any city streets.
All parking will be strictly enforced. Any vehicles parked on sidewalks or in reserved spaces will be towed.
Tents in the Courtyard
At the request of the Orange County Sheriff's Office, Orange County Facilities Management will not allow the placement of tents of any kind in the courtyard or courthouse property during the State vs. Casey Anthony trial due to security concerns.
Contact Information
Problems that arise may be referred to:
Dave Sirak, Wftv, Media Committee Chair Dave.Sirak@wftv.com
Karen Levey at 407-836-2047. cell: 407-325-7781 or ctadkl1@ocnjcc.org
Rob Bains at 407-836-0439. cell: 407-719-5923 or ctadrb1@ocnjcc.org
Julio Semino at 407-836-0439. cell: 407-491-7160 or ctadjs1@ocnjcc.org
Jeff Pierce at 407-836-0113. cell: 407-222-0250 or ctadjp2@ocnjcc.org
AV Department On-call engineer 407-836-0522/cell: 407-832-1311 A/V Request
For additional questions concerning the media email media@ocnjcc.org
Tom Burton with The Orlando Sentinel TBurtonW@orlandosentinel.com
Mike Phelan with InSession 1-404-272-0069 mike.pelan@turner.com
City of Orlando:
Parking: 407-246-2155
Security: 407-246-2296
