To give the public and victims of crimes more access while court audiences are restricted, all seven Johnson County courts are live-streaming public proceedings online.
While courts are not normally allowed to be broadcast, according to state law, the Indiana Supreme Court relaxed those rules during the coronavirus pandemic to remain transparent while restrictions are in place.
After the state’s high court issued the order April 22, Johnson County judges decided to investigate if it would be feasible locally.
Last month, Superior 2 Judge Peter Nugent said it would be cost-prohibitive to offer a live-stream at the time, but courts were looking into more options to potentially live-stream in the future.
Court employees have since found a free solution to offer audio streaming, said Brandi Foster Kirkendall, Johnson County court administrator. Each of the county’s courts set up a free online radio station with Caster.fm, which allows up to 400 listeners to tune in simultaneously.
The courts were able to use existing equipment in conjunction with the free service, so the only cost to taxpayers was county employees researching options and setting up the stations, Foster Kirkendall said.
Foster Kirkendall spoke with other counties to network ideas for live-streaming and arrived at this solution because it is free, it gets the job done and it is easy for court staff to navigate. Depending on their level of available funds, some counties decided to forgo broadcasting, while others invested up to $10,000 on new equipment to accommodate the need, she said.
“With the pandemic, we had to adjust to provide access and find the most practical way to make this happen,” Foster Kirkendall said.
The radio stations were first set up a couple weeks ago, but were not available to the public until last week, once all the technological kinks were worked out. Court employees also had to be trained on it. The station is only live when court is in session, she said.
The audio quality can be grainy, especially when attorneys or defendants are joining the hearing remotely via audio or video conferencing. But since broadcasting is only for the duration of the pandemic, this short-term solution affords the public better access than no broadcast at all, Foster Kirkendall said.
“It is not the best solution by any means, but we are hoping that the public, as well as victims, will have more access,” Foster Kirkendall said. “This allows them to stay home and stay safe.”
There is no official end date to the supreme court order allowing courts to broadcast proceedings, but it will likely be in effect until courts are able to lift audience restrictions safely, she said.
It could be some time before restrictions are lifted fully. The Indiana Supreme Court, on May 29, extended its decision to allow case parties to appear remotely until January 1, 2021, and extended its prohibition on bench warrants until August 15, 2020.
The public is allowed to attend court hearings in person, but attendance is limited to meet social distancing guidelines, Foster Kirkendall said.
“We are not prohibiting access, we are just limiting access for everyone’s safety,” she said.
The broadcast schedule is not available online and will vary depending on each court’s docket for the day. For details about when hearings will air, the public may call the office of the specific court where cases of interest are being heard.
The Johnson County Juvenile Court will only live-stream when family law cases are being heard, Foster Kirkendall said.
