Texas judge says deliberations in murder trial can be filmed

HOUSTON -- A judge has granted documentary filmmakers full access to an upcoming capital murder trial -- including the traditionally secret jury deliberations -- and prosecutors are mounting an effort to stop it.

Legal experts believe it would be the first time deliberations were included in a video documentary of a trial that could lead to a death sentence.

State District Judge Ted Poe issued an order Nov. 11 allowing PBS' public affairs series, "FRONTLINE," to film the trial from start to finish.

Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal has asked Poe to reconsider. If he doesn't, Rosenthal has already filed a petition with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Putting pressure

"We don't try these cases for the spectacle or for people's entertainment," Rosenthal said. "I think that filming jurors is really a bad idea because it puts pressure on the jurors to vote in a way the public might expect."

Poe has scheduled a hearing for Monday, the same day individual questioning of about 55 potential jurors is set to begin.

Defense lawyers for 17-year-old Cedric Harrison say their client not only agreed to let the cameras in, he encouraged it. "He felt that it could only benefit him," Ricardo Rodriguez said.

Harrison is accused of fatally shooting Felix Sabio II, 35, on June 2 outside Sabio's apartment. He was arrested after a chase ended with a fiery car crash.

At first, Rodriguez said he was unsure of whether a remote camera installed in the ceiling of the jury room would help or hurt his client, but decided to support the idea after talking with other defense attorneys and psychologists.

"I believe I made the right decision because look at how the state of Texas has responded to all this," Rodriguez said. "I think for once the whole world is going to watch what goes on in a Texas courtroom, where the state seeks the death penalty quite frequently."

South Texas College of Law professor T. Gerald Treece said the case differs from others previously filmed not only because it is a death penalty case, but also because not all of the participants agree with Poe's decision to allow the filming.

"This has groundbreaking potential only because someone is challenging it," Treece said. "It is very unusual to have deliberations videotaped when someone objects."

Treece said keeping deliberations has been more of a custom than a law in Texas. "The more the public's right of access increases, the better we all are," he said.

Attorney Chip Babcock, who will represent Poe in the petition before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, says the judge has put safeguards in place, such as making sure the videotape of jury's deliberations remains in the court's custody until after the verdict, to ensure "everyone involved has a fair trial."

"The judge felt that it was important to allow this project to go forward," said Babcock, to whom Poe referred calls.