H.R. 2802: Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2011
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H.R. 2802: Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2011
112th Congress · introduced 2011-08-05 · Law · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2011-08-05 · official record
- Who proposed it: Rep. Chabot, Steve [R-OH-1] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2011
Plain summary
Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2011 - Authorizes the presiding judge of a U.S. appellate court (including the Supreme Court) or U.S. district court to permit the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising to the public of court proceedings over which that judge presides, except when such action would constitute a violation of the due process rights of any party. Directs: (1) a district court, upon the request of any witness in a trial proceeding other than a party, to order the face and voice of the witness to be disguised or otherwise obscured to render the witness unrecognizable to the broadcast audience of the trial proceeding; and (2) the presiding judge in a trial proceeding to inform each witness who is not a party of the right to make such request. Authorizes the Judicial Conference to promulgate mandatory guidelines with respect to the management and administration of photographing, recording, broadcasting, or televising described in this Act.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
What a vote does
A “Yea” vote
If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.
PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).
What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2011
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
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The strongest published arguments
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Alternatives
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Rep. Chabot, Steve [R-OH-1] · 3 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112hr2802.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/hr>
Record fed-us-cong112-hr2802 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112