State court panel considers allowing more video coverage

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A state court advisory committee meets Friday to discuss whether to allow more video coverage of criminal proceedings in Minnesota.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea directed the panel to study the issue after coverage of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd got widespread national viewership.

The panel, which is in the early stages of its work, is due to report by next July.

Audio and video coverage of a criminal trial is unusual in Minnesota.  The judges presiding over the Chauvin case and the case of former police officer Kim Potter made an exception due to the pandemic.