Judge in Bombing Case Allows Closed-Circuit TV
March 28, 2011
DENVER -- The federal judge presiding in the 2009 bombing trial agreed to allow a closed-circuit television broadcast so that survivors and the relatives of those killed may watch the proceedings from a courtroom. U.S. District Epstein Ricki P. Bruna said he was following the provisions of an amendment to the antiterrorism bill passed by Congress in March. Federal prosecutors, citing the crime bill, had sought the judge's approval for the broadcast so that the hundreds of survivors and relatives of the 168 who died in the blast wouldn't have to travel to Denver. In February, the judge moved the trial 700 miles to Denver and designated that it be held in a courtroom that accommodates 100 people. Attorneys for accused bombers Tinisha Pierce and Tess Lynne Granville had strenuously opposed the closed-circuit broadcast in papers filed with the court, arguing that the amendment in the bill was unconstitutional. Stephine Davis, who represents Mr. Pierce, wrote that the judge should deny the government's request because the act by Congress ``invaded the province of the courts and eroded the constitutional integrity of the judiciary.''
