Federal Judicial Center

Video Recording Courtroom Proceedings in United States District Courts Federal Judicial Center

This report presents findings from the Federal Judicial Center's (Center) evaluation of the Digital Video Recording Pilot Project, more commonly known as the Cameras in the Courtroom Pilot Project (pilot project). We briefly describe the origins and requirements of the pilot project; report the number of judges who participated and the procedures the pilot courts developed to identify eligible proceedings; discuss the number and types of proceedings recorded and the reasons why some parties declined to be recorded; discuss the assessments of judges, lawyers, and court staff; and report information from a survey of viewers. Several attachments provide information about implementation guidance to the pilot courts; the costs of, and a description of, the video recording equipment; and the Center's data-collection instruments.