Monday, Apr. 16, 2012
By MICHAEL TARM
"We're troubled by this ban," said Ed Younka, Chicago spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union. Tweeting and social media are "merely the 21st century version of what reporters have always done — gather information and disseminate it."
Judges, he said, should embrace Twitter as a way to shed light on the judicial process, which, for many Americans, remains shrouded in mysterious ritual.
The judge in the Illinois case fears that feverish tweeting on smartphones could distract jurors and witnesses when testimony begins April 23.
"Tweeting takes away from the dignity of a courtroom," said Irv Miller, media liaison for Cook County Judge Charles Burns. "The judge doesn't want the trial to turn into a circus."
Hmmm.
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