Federal lawsuit aims to make recordings of Oakland County court proceedings public
A federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan aims to make the audio and video recordings of Oakland County court proceedings available to the public and the parties or attorneys in a given case, a move that could maximize public engagement with the courts.
The lawsuit, Hallman v. Reeds, was filed in April in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Aside from increased public engagement, a win for the plaintiffs could also serve as a way to hold judges accountable when they are accused of courtroom errors or misconduct. That last aspect could be beneficial to voters when it comes time to select local and statewide judicial candidates in election years.
Several Michigan courts made live streams of proceedings available to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Michigan Supreme Court routinely streams its proceedings and for a time encouraged local courts statewide to continue live streams even after the pandemic, but each court had discretion on the matter. Some courts have since completely retreated from the virtual sphere and no longer live stream their proceedings. Other courts have continued on, but with the caveat of producing a live stream without archiving the proceeding.
Philip Mayor, an attorney with the ACLU of Michigan and the plaintiff's counsel in the Hallman case, told Michigan Advance that streaming proceedings is now technologically feasible, so the courts should be making their recordings available.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
The named defendants in the case are Oakland District Court judges Travis Reeds and Lisa Asadoorian, as well as Oakland Chief Circuit Judge Jeffery Matis. A message seeking comment from Oakland County was not immediately returned.
Aside from courts that do make their proceedings public, the court sued in Hallman only provides a transcript when asked.
Mayor said a transcript is inadequate compared to an audio or video recording in capturing the tone, tenor and demeanor of a given judge, especially when an attorney or a party is seeking to highlight a judicial error upon appeal.
'Judges know this, because our appellate courts defer to trial judges when they make credibility findings, or when they talk about a witness's demeanor, because they say that judge was there to see that and experience that in person,' Mayor said. 'We recognize that that's meaningful. The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission recognizes this when it evaluates judges accused of misconduct because it looks at the videos and it discusses not just the words that were said, but the demeanor with which it was said, and the way people are treated by judicial officials.'
Mayor said that from a democracy standpoint, the public had a right to be informed about what goes on in Michigan's courthouses.
'It's just not realistic that [members of] the public are going to read a 40-page transcript, but it is realistic that the public, in informing themselves before an election, may watch a five minute clip of something that happens in the courthouses,' he added.
The lawsuit's complaint also details that paradigm as a taxpayer return-on-investment issue.
'Taxpayer dollars are used throughout Michigan to create recordings of courtroom proceedings, but those same taxpayers are routinely denied access to the very recordings their hard-earned funds pay to create,' the complaint said. 'This lack of transparency violates the First Amendment by denying the public the right to access and disseminate records of critical judicial proceedings, many of which constitute the bedrock upon which a functioning democracy is built.'
The Hallman lawsuit centers around one such instance where a recording of the court's proceedings was suppressed, implicating access and First Amendment issues.
The lead plaintiff, Dr. Samantha Hallman, said her brother was subjected to alleged abusive conduct from an Oakland District Court judge. A lawsuit in the Oakland Circuit Court followed to ferret out issues of the district judge's demeanor and the fact that her brother was denied an audio recording of the proceeding.
A local administrative order ultimately denied dissemination of that recording.
Hallman then attempted to get a copy to inform voters about the judge's courtroom conduct and demeanor, but she was denied under the same policy. She was later allowed to view a recording of the proceeding but was denied permission to disseminate the copy to the public, legislators and other policy makers.
Her lawsuit in the federal district court notes that a transparent and open court was one of the hallmarks of American democracy, and that civic engagement and government accountability depended upon open access.
'It was once a civic expectation that the public would attend trials and directly engage with democratic governance by doing so,' the complaint said. 'That is not possible in the modern world, but providing the public with access to existing recordings of what happens in our courts is the closest modern analog to this historical practice.'
The case is awaiting an answer from the defendants and possibly a motion to dismiss, Mayor said.
He noted that the issue wasn't specific to Oakland County. Mayor said there was a similar recent instance in Hamtramck where a judge had allegedly berated a cancer patient who had been sued on a civil offense for not keeping his lawn mowed. Someone had recorded the hearing, potentially in violation of the same policies Mayor and the ACLU of Michigan were suing to overturn in Oakland County. The video went public and drew voter attention, leading the judge to apologize.
'That just shows that a transcript of that hearing wasn't going to capture the public's attention, but the video did,' Mayor said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Palm Coast mayor to host his own town hall amid censure and push for removal
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris will host a "mayoral town hall" from 6-8 p.m. at the VFW Post 8696, 47 Old Kings Road, Palm Coast, July 28. According to a post on Norris' public Facebook page, the town hall is a "privately organized event being held on private property with no affiliation with the City of Palm Coast." The press is 'required" to contact Norris through his Facebook page for "press passes." However, Norris told The News-Journal it is for head-counting purposes since the event is self-funded and will include catering. Palm Coast's Communications Director Brittany Kershaw said each City Council member was offered an individual town hall and Norris was the only one to decline the offer. Norris told The News-Journal in an interview that he didn't want to waste city resources when he can fund the event himself. He said more than 100 people have already RSVP'd to the event. Norris didn't tell the city about the town hall; the city learned about it through Facebook, according to Kershaw. 'I don't have to tell the city,' Norris told The News-Journal. 'I'm the mayor.' The move comes after the council censured Norris and voted to ask Gov. Ron DeSantis to remove Norris as mayor. This is a breaking news story. Check back later for more updates. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Palm Coast mayor rejects city's town hall invite, plans his own Solve the daily Crossword


Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Feds raid Tujunga home of ‘TikTok Cult' pastor in sex trafficking, fraud investigation
A home linked to a pastor featured in the Netflix docuseries 'Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult' was raided Friday by federal agents in relation to an investigation into sex trafficking, money laundering and other accusations, according to authorities. Property records show the home in the 7700 block of McGroarty Street in Tujunga is linked to multiple owners, including Matthew Shinn, pastor of the Shekinah Church and the subject of a 2024 docuseries. He operates a talent agency that purportedly helps social media stars and TikTok dancers find jobs in Los Angeles. Those featured in the docuseries call Shinn an abusive cult leader. They say he kept them away from their families by telling them that in order to be saved, they had to 'die' to their loved ones who did not follow his teachings. He reportedly told them that if they were 'godly' enough, they would also save their families from damnation. On Friday, agents with the U.S. Postal Service, Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Dept. of Labor served a warrant at the home around 6 a.m., according to the El Monte Police Department, which provided assistance along with the FBI. The search was related to allegations of sex trafficking, money laundering, tax evasion and COVID pandemic-era related fraud. SWAT officers were at the scene to assist, according to the El Monte Police Department. Postal Inspector Patricia Mendoza said in a prepared statement that officials will provide more details as the investigation progresses. 'U.S. Postal Inspection Service is working closely with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners on this ongoing investigation. This remains an active case, and we are continuing to gather and review information,' Mendoza said in a statement. Law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation say the federal warrant is connected with the alleged cult featured in the Netflix docuseries but details from the investigation remain under seal in federal court. News footage from KTLA showed several handcuffed people outside the residence, but sources familiar with the investigation say there have not yet been any arrests. It was not immediately clear if Shinn had any legal representation. The docuseries follows former Shekinah Church members who worked with the 7M Films talent agency, which was founded by Shinn in 2021. The series reveals that the dancers who were represented by talent agency started as social media collaborators who frequently posted dance videos together on TikTok, but that group found themselves attending Bible study with Shinn. Those dancers invited friends to join what eventually became the core group of the alleged cult. Shinn reportedly called himself 'the Man of God' and said his teachings would grant his followers salvation. Los Angeles Times staff writers Brittny Mejia and Kimberly Aguirre contributed to this report.


Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago's federal judges approve appointment of Andrew Boutros as US attorney
In a formerly rare move that's a sign of unusual times at the Justice Department, a panel of federal judges in Chicago has approved of Andrew Boutros' appointment by the Trump administration as U.S. attorney in Chicago. Boutros, 47, a former federal prosecutor, was selected by the Trump administration to serve in the powerful law enforcement post after a search process run by Republican U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, of Peoria. He was appointed as an interim U.S. attorney — which means he was not confirmed by the U.S. Senate — for a 120-day term that began April 7. The order to approve the appointment beyond the 120-day term, which would have ended Aug. 5, was entered on Thursday by U.S. District Chief Judge Virginia M. Kendall after the full court met in executive session on Monday. Boutros is the latest U.S. attorney nationally to go through a form of court-approval process as opposed to being nominated by the White House and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, which is by far the more traditional path. Many of Trump's interim U.S. attorney appointments have been controversial, such as Alina Habba, the president's former defense lawyer, in New Jersey. Judges there recently declined to extend her 120-day term, prompting a political battle that is still ongoing. Judges in Chicago, however, are much more familiar with Boutros, a former assistant U.S. attorney and prominent lawyer in Chicago who is well-known in the city's legal circles. No time frame for Boutros' term was mentioned in Kendall's order and his appointment is believed to be open-ended. In a statement released Friday, Boutros called the vote of confidence 'the honor of a lifetime.' 'I am deeply grateful that two branches of our government have agreed upon my appointment,' Boutros said in a statement released Friday. 'I am thankful to Chief Judge Kendall and the U.S. District Court judges of the Northern District of Illinois for their confidence in me.' Boutros, the 42nd U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, leads an office of about 130 criminal and civil attorneys and dozens more support employees that has long been recognized as one of the busiest and most prominent in the country. He's a first-generation American whose parents emigrated from Egypt. He attended Virginia Tech University and earned a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2001. Boutros spent eight years as a federal prosecutor under then-U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, bringing a number of high-profile and complex prosecutions involving everything from international trade to dark web narcotics conspiracy. He'd most recently served as co-chair of the government investigations and white-collar group at Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP in Chicago. 'I didn't take this job because I thought it would be easy,' Boutros told a group of reporters who cover the federal courthouse shortly after taking over. 'I took this job knowing full well that there are tremendous pressures and expectations put on being U.S. attorney…But I believe and continue to believe that I am the right person for this job, and I will work tirelessly to carry out the mandate to the best of my ability.'