In October a team from Courtroom View Network, the only news organization dedicated to gavel-to-gavel video coverage of civil jury trials, attended the 2025 fall conference and national board meeting for the American Board of Trial Advocates in Austin, Texas. ABOTA is an invitation-only organization made up of over 7,000 highly-experienced trial attorneys and judges focused on preserving the right to a civil jury trial and promoting civility, integrity and professionalism amongst both plaintiff and defense attorneys.
In addition to CVN proudly helping sponsor the event, CVN editor David Siegel participated in a panel discussion on modern video coverage in courtrooms as part of the conference’s “NextGen Jury Summit” focusing on how advancing technological changes impact the trial process. The panel also included Kyle Farrar and and Mark Bankston of Farrar & Ball LLP, who represented plaintiffs in a defamation trial against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones that served as the basis for a major HBO documentary, and the Honorable Clifton Newman, the South Carolina state court judge who presided over the televised Alex Murdaugh murder trial.
After the panel discussion, David, Kyle and Mark joined ABOTA National Secretary Jill Webb for a recording of the "ABOTA Speaks" podcast and a more in-depth discussion on real world experiences with cameras in the courtroom, (click here to listen) both from Kyle and Mark’s perspective representing plaintiffs in a recorded trial making national headline news and CVN’s experience broadcasting more “everyday” civil trials.
The lively exchange delves into whether or not cameras impact jurors or witnesses, the types of concerns judges and litigants often deal with when considering a camera request, when camera coverage is and isn’t appropriate, and the types of best practices that ensure coverage serves the public without interfering in the proceedings.
It’s an animated 33-minute discussion that serves as a great primer for how cameras in courtrooms really work drawing from the real-world experience of participating in one of the most widely watched civil trials of the century to regularly filming asbestos and medical malpractice and slip-and-fall cases.
Thank you to ABOTA for hosting CVN, and for working to preserve the “disappearing civil jury trial” that CVN is dedicated to covering.
Sign up today for a monthly or annual subscription and get unlimited gavel-to-gavel access to hundreds of trials in CVN's online video library, featuring many of the top plaintiff and defense attorneys throughout the United States.
Also make sure to check out the other great episodes of ABOTA Speaks!
