Judge John Judge repeatedly warned members of the media covering Bryan Kohberger’s case that their courtroom access came with rules and that he was prepared to restrict or eliminate cameras if those rules continued to be tested. During a June 2023 hearing, Judge specifically called out photographers and camera operators for “pushing the envelope,” particularly by focusing too closely on Kohberger, the defense table, attorneys’ notes and computer screens instead of maintaining the wider courtroom shots the court had authorized. He made clear that the proceedings were supposed to take place in the courtroom, not become a spectacle conducted through television coverage, and warned that continued violations could result in cameras being removed altogether. Kohberger’s defense later cited those incidents as evidence that the media had failed to follow the court’s restrictions and argued that cameras threatened his ability to receive a fair trial.
When the fight over cameras intensified later that year, Judge stopped short of banning them but delivered another pointed warning about how reporters, photographers and spectators were expected to behave. He urged everyone covering the case to exercise “dignity” and “restraint,” emphasizing that the extraordinary public interest surrounding Kohberger did not give the media license to turn every movement, facial expression or document on counsel’s table into content. Judge attempted to balance the public’s right to observe one of the country’s most closely watched criminal cases against Kohberger’s right to a fair proceeding, but his message to the press was unmistakable: courtroom access was a privilege governed by the court, and if the media could not respect the boundaries he imposed, he was willing to tighten those restrictions.
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