Cameras In The Courtroom

• 
  No wonder we are called "Sin City!" It could only have happened in Windsor and Essex County!
  
  Is it something that could change the course of Canadian history? Could it result in the fall of the Conservative Government and perhaps the emergence of the Green Party as a power in government as voters turn away from the old-line parties. Will it make Adscam look like kindergarten? Or will it increase Conservative Party membership?



I am sure you saw the recent story about putting cameras in Canadian courtrooms.


• "Ontario will let citizens watch the wheels of justice from the comfort of their living rooms, Attorney General Michael Bryant said Wednesday, announcing that cameras will be installed inside the Ontario Court of Appeal.
  
  The cameras are expected to roll by the spring. Eventually television may come to all the province's courtrooms, Bryant said. "Ontario's justice system is ready for its close-up."
  
  "I think it is inevitable that we are going to have cameras and radio broadcasts in the courtrooms of our nation so that everybody can see what the public moments of our justice system are"

That seemed to come out of the blue. I do not remember hearing a great outcry about it do you? But what I do know is that Windsor may well be the battleground for the forces for and against the idea! Can you imagine what it would be like if there were cameras in the Courtroom for the big Windsor trial that just finished? There would be a feeding frenzy, a Zoo!

Clearly, the recent case involving the death threat to Jeff Watson must have played a vital role in the announcement. If you want to get people talking, you need something really BOFFO as Variety, the entertainment bible would say!

What better way to get the rating numbers up than politicians and a "situation." How Bill Clintonish. And what can be more BOFFO these days than a hint of a scandal and something that won't be revealed

We read in the Star:

• "Bradie alleged the real reason Schnekenburger was upset with Kouvalis was that he had warned her not to make a pass at MacKay at the barbecue.
  
  "He said in a joking manner he didn't want me to hit on Peter MacKay," she admitted.
  
  Kouvalis did that, Bradie alleged, because Schnekenburger had another "situation" with another MP, a relationship that had caused some pain. Schnekenburger acknowledged that incident. Bradie told the court he would not reveal the identity of the MP. He also did not reveal details of the relationship between the MP and Schnekenberger, who is 21."

Perfectly done as a warm-up for the real thing, the real introduction of cameras. It is a teaser, a come-on, it would have forced us to tune into the next episode.

• "A date will be set Thursday to continue the trial."

Just like with the famous "Dallas" TV show. You had to tune in again to see who tried to kill JR. The number of viewers watching would have gone through the roof! Geraldo would have come here as must Extra, A Current Affair and Inside Edition. The National Enquirer has to come for enquiring minds. The British tabloids would probably book an entire hotel together when they heard about this. Who knows, OJ Simpson might do the play-by-play for Court TV.

The case has become the talk of the town. The name of the Minister of Foreign Affairs is involved somehow? Who is the MP that is involved? Is it a Conservative or from another party? Why the point of the girl being described as 21? A "situation"---what kind of word is that? What kind of "relationship" was it? What kind of "pain?." The MP's wife calling witnesses to her home to discuss the case a few days before trial. And then the acquittal and possible civil actions or perhaps a book and movie deal to reveal all. Oh the drama of it.

This is juicy stuff....the Nielsen TV ratings would have been huge. If they sell commercials, we are looking at Super-Bowl type costs for advertisers. I bet it solves the Ontario budget mess quickly since the Administration of Justice is a provincial matter!

Of course some people know the answer to the questions I posed above already. How did they find out? Another breaking news story: "Canadian coins with tiny radio frequency transmitters hidden inside...Whoever did this obviously has access to some pretty advanced technology."