At just 33 years of age, Mr Caruso is the youngest lawyer to ever serve as president of the Law Society of South Australia. He is proposing a fresh take on public access to justice during his one-year tenure by advocating for a system under which important, high-profile court cases would be filmed and made available for public viewing. According to Mr Caruso, offering members of the public a digital window into the courts will help to promote a culture of openness and transparency, as well as supporting public understanding of the workings of the justice system. 'Our courts are open. Anyone can go there anytime, but we're all busy people,' commented Mr Caruso.
Divided opinion
South Australian courts currently have the authority to allow proceedings to be filmed, but rarely exercise this power. Mr Caruso has argued that as technological advances make recording cases less invasive, there should be no reason why courts would resist embracing greater public access to proceedings. However, the proposal has met with opposition from Susan Close, South Australia's acting attorney general. 'Selective broadcasting may do more harm to public understanding of the justice system than the status quo,' Ms Close suggested.
In the public interest
However, Mr Caruso is adamant that, so long as appropriate controls are in place, broadcasts are firmly in the public interest. 'Provided that proceedings were appropriate for broadcast, and those who were being broadcast consented to it, there is no reason why technology should not give us every reason to consider public access to justice being more than just physically attending,' Mr Caruso argued. Source: The Australasian Lawyer
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