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district courts in Kansas and Utah have amended their court rules to allow journalists to use cell phones and laptop computers to report from the courtroom . 21 The Utah rule goes so far as to create a presumptive right for news reporters to use electronic media to report on court proceedings . 22 Pursuant to Rule 53 ( b ), Kansas District Court Judge Thomas Marten permitted Wichita Eagle reporter Ron Sylvester to tweet during a trial for racketeering . 23
More judges have recognized the popularity and effectiveness of the use of cellphone and tablets to report what happens during a trial . For this reason , live blogging has become routine . As early as February 2010 , the Judicial Council for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit authorized judges throughout that circuit to allow reporters to provide live blogging and other text transmission in criminal cases . 24 Likewise , United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois , James Zagel , has permitted reporters to live blog with Twitter . 25 In the Knox County murder trial of Nicholas Sheley , Circuit Judge James B . Stewart permitted Twitter use . He described the experience as “ an enormous success .” 26 Judge Stewart explained that tweeting allowed the public to see the judicial process at work . His remark compliments Twitter advocates who state that microblogging is the equivalent to more traditional means
21 Cathy Packer , Should Courtroom Observers Be Allowed to Use Their Smartphones and Computers in Court ? An Examination of The Arguments , 36 Am . J . Trial Advoc . 573 , 591 ( 2013 ).
22 Id . 23 As Witnesses Sing , Juror ’ s Twitter Tweets , supra .
24
Esther Seitz , # Oyez , # Oyez : Why Judges Should Let Reporters Tweet From the Courtroom , 101 Ill . B . J . 38 , 41 ( 2013 ).
25 Id . at 41 . 26 Id . at 42 .
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