Court cases to be televised for first time

THE courts will be televised today for the first time in the State’s history.

In a legal and television first, today’s Supreme Court proceedings will be screened live on RTÉ.

The first case to be televised involves exbusinessman, Patrick Lee, who has been fighting extradition to the US since 2011.

He will find out today if he is to be extradited. The broadcast will begin at 9.30am on RTÉ News Now and on RTE.ie/news.

The 43-year-old father-of-two from Newtown, Co. Kildare, could face up to 42 years in a US jail for allegedly participating in a lucrative scheme to defraud a string of US banks.

He is accused of receiving about $1million for his role in the scheme.

The broadcasting of the case is part of a joint pilot project between RTÉ and the Courts Service.

Both organisations aim to trial the process, with a hope of developing it further in the future.

RTÉ will broadcast coverage of proceedings from inside the Supreme Court via small robotic cameras. These will feed images to a satellite van outside the court.

RTÉ News chief, Jon Williams, said it was ‘vital that justice is not just done, but is seen to be done.’

The Chief Justice, Frank Clarke, said: ‘We wish to allow people see how their highest court operates.’