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It's been a year-and-a-half since South Dakota began allowing cameras and audio feeds to be taken from state courtrooms and Supreme Court Chief Justice David Gilbertson is applauding the program.
The Chief Justice highlighted the success of the new court rules during Wednesday's State of the Judiciary address.
On July 1, 2011, South Dakota media was allowed to used cameras or record an audio feed from local court hearings, trials and sentencings as long as the prosecutor, defense attorney and judge agreed to them.
It's a similar rule in many states across the country.
During Wednesday's State of the Judiciary, Chief Justice David Gilbertson said 44 requests for the expanded media coverage of courts have been acted on since the new rules have been in affect and either cameras or a live audio feed from the courtroom were allowed in 28 of them. That's about two-thirds of the cases.
The Chief Justice says there have been no complaints about how the system works and the expanded coverage gives the public more access into the state's courts.
Tonight on KELOLAND News, we'll hear from the Chief Justice as well as the KELO-TV assignment editor and Supreme Court statewide media coordinator about how the new rules for court access are historic for the state.
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