PHOTOGRAPHING, RECORDING OR BROADCASTING
OF JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS
(a) Prohibitions Imposed. All forms, means, and manner of taking
photographs, tape recordings, broadcasting, or televising are prohibited in all courtrooms
and the corridors adjacent thereto in the United States Courthouse Buildings during the
course of, or in connection with, any judicial proceedings, whether the Court is actually in
session or not.
(b) Permissible Reproduction. This Rule shall not prohibit recordings by a
court reporter; provided, however, no court reporter or other person shall use or permit to
be used any part of any recording of a court proceeding on, or in connection with, any
radio or television broadcast of any kind. The Court may, in appropriate circumstances,
permit photographs to be taken or recordings to be made under such conditions as may
be imposed.
(c) Audio Streaming Pilot Program. There is a limited exception to the ban
on broadcasting district court proceedings as set forth in these rules for district and
magistrate judges participating in an audio streaming pilot program established by the
Judicial Conference of the United States in March 2020 (JCUS-MAR 2020, p. 9). The
pilot seeks to study issues associated with livestreaming audio of certain civil proceedings
with the consent of the parties to the proceeding. Any livestreaming of audio conducted
pursuant to the pilot program must comply with the pilot guidelines issued by the Judicial
Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, pursuant to the
pilot program (available at https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/judicial-
administration/district-court-audio-streaming-pilot#guidelines ).
