Public Defender’s Office Calls Courthouse Cameras Unnecessary

The Los Angeles public defender’s office says it is now satisfied that hidden cameras on a high-security floor of the downtown criminal courthouse are not capable of secretly recording confidential communications between attorneys and their clients.

But after two demonstrations of the courtroom cameras, the public defender’s office also has concluded they should not be in use because they are unnecessary for security and inappropriate as a record of proceedings.

The ceiling cameras, located in 10 courtrooms of the courthouse, became a source of controversy last month after Public Defender Michael Judge’s office formally requested that Judge Charles Rappe release all the tapes recorded in the trial of a man sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his 4-year-old stepdaughter.

But recent demonstrations of the cameras’ capabilities, Assistant Public Defender Bob Kalunian said, have persuaded the public defender’s office that private courtroom conversations cannot be surreptitiously recorded by judges or anyone else controlling the equipment.

Kalunian said the public defender’s office remains convinced that the cameras serve no legitimate purpose in the courtrooms when activities in the courtroom are already monitored by Sheriff’s Department cameras and legal proceedings are recorded by court reporters.

Meanwhile, Rappe has denied the public defender’s request to turn over all of the audio- and videotapes of the murder case that led to the controversy.

The public defender’s office, Kalunian said, planned to review Rappe’s order and consider its options.