(1)News media coordinator and coordinating councils. News media coordinators will be appointed by the supreme court from a list of nominees provided by a representative of the news media whom the supreme court designates. The judicial officer and all interested members of the news media will work, whenever possible, with and through the appropriate news media coordinator regarding all arrangements for expanded news media coverage. The supreme court will designate the jurisdiction of each news media coordinator. In the event a news media coordinator has not been nominated or is not available for a particular proceeding, the judicial officer may deny expanded news media coverage or may appoint an individual from among local working representatives of the news media to serve as the coordinator for the proceeding.(2)Advance notice of coverage.a. All requests for expanded news media coverage in all proceedings, except initial appearances in criminal cases, shall be made to the news media coordinator. The news media coordinator, in turn, shall inform the attorneys for all parties and the judicial officer at least seven days in advance of the time the proceeding is scheduled to begin, but these times may be extended or reduced by court order. When the proceeding is not scheduled at least seven days in advance, the news media coordinator or news media coordinating council must give notice of the request as soon as practicable after the proceeding is scheduled.b. Notice must be filed electronically or by paper copy with the appropriate clerk of court. A copy of the notice shall be sent electronically, delivered by ordinary mail, or delivered in person to the last known contact of all attorneys of record, parties appearing without attorney representation, the appropriate court administrator, and the judicial officer expected to preside at the proceeding for which expanded news media coverage is requested.c. Only one request for expanded news media coverage is required for all district court proceedings in the same case or trial, except that initial appearances in criminal cases require a separate request pursuant to rule 25.2(4).d. A separate request for expanded news media coverage must be made for Iowa Supreme Court and Iowa Court of Appeals oral arguments, pursuant to rule 25.5.e. Form 1 in rule 25.10 is the notice form for the news media coordinator to use to inform the attorneys for all parties and the judicial officer of a request for expanded news media coverage of the proceeding.(3)Objections.a. A party to any proceeding, except an initial appearance in a criminal case, objecting to expanded news media coverage under rule 25.2(2) must file a written objection, stating the grounds for objection, at least three days before commencement of the proceeding.b. All witnesses must be advised by the attorney proposing to introduce their testimony of their right to object to expanded news media coverage, and all objections by witnesses under rule 25.2(3) must be filed prior to commencement of the proceeding.c. Witnesses shall be entitled to the assistance of the clerk of court in providing copies of this objection to all attorneys of record, parties appearing without attorney representation, the news media coordinator for the judicial district, the district court administrator for the judicial district, and the judicial officer expected to preside in the proceeding.d. All objections shall be heard and determined by the judicial officer prior to the commencement of the proceedings. The judicial officer may rule on the basis of the written objection alone.e. The objecting party or witness, and all other parties, may be afforded an opportunity to present additional evidence by affidavit or by such other means as the judicial officer directs. The judicial officer in absolute discretion may permit presentation of such evidence by the news media coordinator in the same manner.f.Time for filing of objections may be extended or reduced in the discretion of the judicial officer, who also, in appropriate circumstances, may extend the right of objection to persons not specifically provided for in this chapter.g. Form 2 in rule 25.10 is the form for parties and Form 3 is the form for witnesses to use to object to expanded news media coverage of the proceeding.R. Exapand. New. Media Cov. 25.3
Court Order November 9, 2001, effective 2/15/2002; 5/27/2010; 4/2/2014, effective 5/1/2014; 4/29/2014, effective 5/1/2014; 7/22/2016.