United States First Circuit

In an action related to a copyright infringement trial, petition challenging an order permitting gavel-to-gavel webcasting of a hearing in a civil case is granted and the matter remanded where a district court judge does not have the authority to permit webcasting of a civil matter. The ruling forbidding enforcement of the order is based on the fact that the court erred in its broad interpretation of Local Rule 83.3, and that both the Judicial Conference of the United States and First Circuit Judicial Council support a narrow interpretation of the rule and have passed policies against the broadcasting of civil court proceedings.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/16/2009
• Published 04/16/2009

Judges

• SELYA, Circuit Judge., Before TORRUELLA, SELYA and LIPEZ, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Daniel J. Cloherty, with whom Victoria L. Steinberg, Dwyer & Collora, LLP, Eve G. Burton, Timothy M. Reynolds, Laurie J. Rust, and Holme Roberts & Owen, LLP were on brief, for petitioners., Jonathan Sherman, with whom Dean Kawamoto, Melissa Felder, and Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP were on brief, for Courtroom View Network, amicus curiae., Matthew H. Feinberg, Feinberg & Kamholtz, Cindy Cohn, and Kurt Opsahl on brief, for Electric Frontier Foundation, Public.Resource.Org, Inc., Media Access Project, Internet Archive, Free Press, California First Amendment Coalition, and Ben Sheffner, amici curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• Charles R. Nesson, for respondent Joel Tenenbaum.