A Reversal on Cameras in Federal Courts

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The U.S. Judicial Conference revives a committee considering television coverage of civil cases.

A small crack has opened in the wall the federal courts built around themselves last year to block television and radio coverage. By a divided vote, the U.S. Judicial Conference has agreed to rethink its decision last year to black out all U.S. District Courts and Courts of Appeals.

The battle seemed lost last December, when a conference committee exploring electronic coverage voted to shut down, saying it "would make no further recommendations regarding cameras in the federal courts." The action followed a vote last September by the full judicial conference - the policymaking arm of the federal courts - to end a modest three-year …