SACRAMENTO, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A federal judge ruled Wednesday the Proposition 8 trial in San Francisco will be videotaped for delayed Internet release on YouTube.
U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker's decision to post Monday's proceedings still must be approved by Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Alex Kozinski, the Sacramento Bee said.
If approved, the torrid legal fight will become the first federal trial in nine Western states to be videotaped for public circulation, said, legal attorney Thomas Burke.
The federal lawsuit challenges the initiative that forbade same-sex marriage in California.
Judge Walker in San Francisco ordered the video coverage over the protests of Proposition 8's sponsors. Their lawyer argued that witnesses would be intimidated if the proceedings were viewed outside the courthouse and would violate their right to a fair trial, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
"The knowledge that you're testifying to untold thousands or millions ... can cause some witnesses to become more timid," and induce others to be overly dramatic, attorney Michael Kirk told Walker.
