Author Archives: Jonathan Marks

Since 1925 and the dawn of public broadcasting, with the exception of a short pilot experiment in the Court of Appeal, Britain’s court doors have been firmly shut to cameras, TV and radio. That is why newspaper court reports carry those sketches by court sketch artists which depict judges, lawyers and witnesses in action, but in a thoroughly artificial way. Even Paul McCartney’s solicitor getting her hair wet at the hand of Heather Mills was covered in this archaic fashion.

Now we have nothing against Court sketch artists, but there can be no justification in the television age …