Section 2 - Equipment and Personnel - Media(a) The Court Administrator and the presiding judge for each unit of the superior court will adopt a policy on media use and placement of equipment and personnel in each courtroom within that unit. In drafting the policy, representatives of the media regularly appearing in courts in the unit will be consulted. The Court Administrator and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will adopt a similar policy for media and nonparticipants for the Supreme Court on placement of equipment and personnel. In both cases, the policy must cover the number of pieces of equipment authorized in the courtroom, the type of equipment, and the required placement of equipment and personnel operating the equipment. The policy may require pooling when more than one individual seeks to use the same type of equipment for similar purposes.(b) The policy must be displayed at the entrance to the courtroom covered by the policy.(c) The policy may be amended at any time after consultation as specified in subdivision (a).(d) The policy must provide that (1) Any pooling arrangements among the media required by the policy will be the media's sole responsibility without court mediation.(2) No equipment that makes a distracting sound when operated is allowed.(3) No artificial lighting equipment of any kind is allowed.(4) Unless specifically authorized in the policy, no equipment operator may move from the area specifically assigned to that operator. No operator may move about to attract attention to the operator.(5) Except for hand-held devices, no equipment may be placed or removed from the courtroom except prior to commencement or after adjournment of proceedings each day or during a recess.(6) Audio pickup for media will be from existing audio systems present in the court facility, where practicable. If there is no technically suitable audio system, any necessary wiring or microphones will be unobtrusive and located in places designated in advance by the policy.Vt. Admin. Ord. Of. Sup. Ct. 2
Adopted May 1, 2019, eff. 9/3/2019.