Local Rule LRCiv 43.1: CONDUCT IN COURTROOM AND ENVIRONS

LRCiv 43.1 CONDUCT IN COURTROOM AND ENVIRONS

(a) Audio/video Recording.

(1) Prohibited Activities. All forms, means, and manner of capturing, recording, broadcasting, transmitting, and/or storing of anything by use of electronic, photographic, audio and/or visual means or devices are prohibited in all courtrooms and environs thereto during the course of, or in connection with, any judicial proceedings whether the Court is actually in session or not.

(2) Exceptions. A District, Magistrate, or Bankruptcy Judge may permit:

(A) the use of electronic or photographic devices for the presentation of evidence or the perpetuation of the record;

(B) the broadcasting, televising, recording or photographing of investitive, ceremonial, or naturalization proceedings; and

(C) subject to the prohibitions contained in paragraph (a)(1) above, the use of an unobtrusive hand-held dictating device by counsel or unrepresented parties for use in dictating notes or reminders during trial. It is not to be used to record any part of the proceedings.

(b) Computers, Cellular Phones, and Other Equipment. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, counsel and unrepresented parties and their legal assistants may use laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and pagers in the courtroom provided they emit no sound, and are not disruptive to the proceedings. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, Internet access is permitted. Cellular phones are prohibited from use in the courtroom. However, unless otherwise ordered by the Court, cellular phones may be utilized in the hallways, lobbies, and other areas of the environs. Any device which has the potential to emit sound or be disruptive to Court proceedings must be turned off or set on silent mode in the courtroom. The use of this equipment is permissible within a judge's chambers at the discretion of the judge. The use of any device described in this section or any other device for the purposes described in this Local Rule subsection (a)(1) is strictly prohibited.

(c) Environs Defined. Environs as used in this Local Rule means the Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse in Phoenix including the entire building, parking lot and curtilage up to the edge of, but not including, the sidewalk; the Evo A. Deconcini United States Courthouse in Tucson including the entire building, parking lot and curtilage up to the edge of, but not including, the publicly dedicated sidewalk; the second floor, basement and that portion of the third floor occupied by the U.S. District Court in the United States Courthouse in Prescott; the entire first floor and that portion of the second floor occupied by the U.S. District Court and U.S. Pretrial Services in the AWD Professional Building, Flagstaff; the entire United States Courthouse in Yuma; the interior of the United States Courthouse at 230 N. First Avenue, Phoenix Arizona; and the interior of the James A. Walsh Courthouse, Tucson, Arizona. In addition to the foregoing, environs as used in this Local Rule also means any other building, parking lot, and curtilage up to the edge, but not including the publicly dedicated sidewalk, of any structure which is owned by the federal government and in which a United States District Court proceeding is held.

(d) Interiors of Offices. This Local Rule does not apply to the interiors of the following offices: U. S. Probation, U. S. Pretrial Services, Clerk's Office, U. S. Attorney's Office, the attorney lounges, and all private tenants.

(e) Exemption for Court Reporting and Recording. This Local Rule is not intended to prohibit recordings by a court reporter paid or appointed by the District Court or recordings prepared by Court personnel, where such recordings are for use as a court record only.

(f) United States Marshal Service and General Services Administration Duties. The United States Marshal Service (USMS) and the General Services Administration (GSA) will make reasonable efforts to promote safe and unobstructed public access to the courthouse during regular business hours. Whenever USMS or GSA in its discretion deems it necessary, or when they are ordered to do so by a Judge, USMS and GSA shall create and maintain by the placement of stanchions an ingress/egress corridor extending from the front door of the courthouse to the sidewalk. The corridor shall include the wheelchair access ramp. The corridor shall be deemed an extension of the doorway and remain unobstructed. Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (a), USMS or GSA may designate a "media access area" on outdoor courthouse property in which the use of cameras and other audio and video recording equipment is permitted.