AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will consider whether PBS' Frontline should be allowed to videotape jury deliberations during a Houston death penalty trial, a court spokesman said Wednesday.
The court scheduled oral arguments Jan. 15 on the controversial request that has attracted widespread media attention because deliberations of a death penalty jury have never been filmed and the defendant in the trial is 17 years old.
The criminal appeals court requested additional briefs on the issues in the case, said Abel Acosta, chief deputy clerk. He would not estimate when the court might rule, but the trial remains on hold while the issue is decided by the appeals court.
Frontline wants to videotape the entire trial of Cedric Harrison, who is charged with capital murder in a carjacking death this year. Harris County leads the nation in sending convicted killers to death row and Texas leads the nation in executions.
State District Judge Ted Poe granted permission Nov. 11 for Frontline to videotape the Harrison trial, which brought an immediate objection from District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal who said the camera would distract jurors from their duties.
The trial would be videotaped for future use, not carried live as some court trials are on television news networks.
Charles "Chip" Babcock, the attorney for Poe, argues that videotaped recording of a death penalty trial would be an extraordinary education for the public.
