By: Editorial Staff
NEWS PHOTOGRAPHERS WERE banned from using a remote camera in O.J. Simpson's murder trial for two days after a photographer took a picture of Judge Lance Ito without his knowledge.
The picture was taken March 29 by Vince Bucci, a freelancer who works for the news service Agence France Presse.
Bucci had gone into Ito's courtroom during the lunch break to fix a glitch in the remote camera. As a test, he took three shots of Ito giving a courtroom tour to a group of high school students, according to Mike Nelson, photo bureau manager for AFP's Los Angeles office.
Bucci liked the shot and asked Ito if he could use it, Nelson said. Ito was angered and called a meeting in his chambers the next morning.
A court order bans photographers from taking pictures when court isn't in session.
Ito fined Bucci $50, forbade the use of the remote camera on March 30 and 31, and sent Bucci to the bottom of AFP's list of photographers who operate the camera each Wednesday.
Five news organizations ? AFP, Reuters, the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Daily News ? have specific days on which they operate the pool camera.
Ito did allow one photographer to remain at the back of the courtroom, as is customary, to take still pictures.
"I think it was probably fair as far as what happened," Nelson said of Ito's sanctions. "It was an unintentional misjudgment, and the judge obviously took it very seriously."
The remote still camera hangs above the jury box near the remote camera. It is operated by a photographer in the hallway outside the courtroom.
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