Media Access to Court Proceedings at the Orange County Corrections Department Booking and Release Center Courtrooms
There are three courtrooms with pubic galleries at the Orange County Corrections Department Booking and Release Center located at 3855 John Young Parkway, Orlando, FL 32839. The media has enhanced access to these galleries on weekdays. On weekends, the galleries are closed to the public and the media with the exception of a pool photographer shooting stills.
Video and Audio Feeds at Media Pedestal in front of BRC
A media pedestal is located on the center edge of the BRC parking lot directly in front of the two designated media parking spaces. To gain access to the pedestal, contact personnel in the Corrections lobby. The pedestal will provide access to video from a fixed camera in each of the three BRC courtrooms and line level audio from the courtroom microphones. Because of this access, video cameras will not be allowed in the public galleries of the BRC courtrooms. Parking is on a first-come, first-served basis. Overflow media may park in any available public parking spaces nearby. Additionally, media vehicles can park on the grassy area just west of the media pedestal if no hard surface parking spaces are available. If parking on the grass, media vehicles do so at their own risk.
Orange County Corrections has no way to modify the video feed or to fix any problems with it. All questions or issues should be directed to (407) 836-0522 (On-call engineer) – If no live answer, an engineer will be paged immediately if you leave a voicemail. Contacting the Corrections PIO will only delay resolving the issue.
Media Access to the Public Galleries of BRC Courtrooms
All media representatives with valid Court-issued authorization cards will be able to access the BRC courtroom’s public galleries. Because the media can access Court Administration's courtroom feeds, no media equipment will be allowed inside the courtroom other than a pool still photographer. The still photographer may carry into the gallery two still cameras and a single tripod or monopod. Even if the still camera is capable of video, no video operation of the camera will be permitted. Pool footage must be shared with all other media. (ON WEEKENDS: The still pool photographer should contact the booking supervisor to gain access. ONLY THE POOL STILL PHOTOGRAPHER WILL BE PERMITTED ACCESS TO THE GALLERIES ON WEEKENDS.) Pool camera coordination shall be the sole responsibility of the media. If the courtroom feed is inaccessible, one Video Pool Camera will be permitted in the courtroom with permission of the jail PIO unless the judge objects.
Media representatives displaying Court-issued authorization cards will be permitted to bring into the public galleries the following standard reporting tools:
• Cellphones: May be brought into the courtroom. Phones must be placed on vibrate or silent mode. Calls cannot be made or received. Voicemail may not be accessed. Texting or email activities are permitted in the public gallery.
• Pad of Paper and writing instruments
• Laptops, notebooks, or tablet devices including iPads, etc.: Media may bring these devices, however, no webcam, outbound streaming video, or audio permitted. Note: there is no public Wi-Fi available at the jail, but aircards or built-in wireless Internet connections may be used.
Ninth Circuit Internet Video Stream
The Circuit's A/V Department provides a live streaming feed from BRC Courtroom One. It may be accessed via the Ninth Circuit website:
http://www.ninthcircuit.org/news/live_broadcast.shtml
NOTE: Orange County Corrections has no access to manage or troubleshoot the internet feed. All questions or issues with the feed should be directed to (407) 836-0522 (On-Call engineer). If no live answer, leave a voicemail to page an AV engineer. Contacting the Corrections PIO will only delay resolving the issue.