2 weeks Ago
An unusually high-profile trial has led to unusual reporting challenges for MLive’s news team at The Grand Rapids Press. The trial of Chistopher Schurr, a former Grand Rapids city police officer, is scheduled to begin Monday. Schurr is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Patrick Lyoya, who was shot by Schurr after a traffic stop in Grand Rapids on April 4, 2022.
Circuit Court Judge Christina Mims, who is presiding, issued an order restricting access to journalists covering the trial, even as she noted “substantial public interest and media attention.” Citing the Michigan Code of Judicial Conduct, Mims said she would be unable to comment on her order. In that order and subsequent clarifications, Mims said only one videographer would be allowed in the courtroom during the trial, and that a feed would be provided to a media room elsewhere in the courthouse.
Journalists would be allowed in the courtroom during testimony – just without cameras. That’s a first for Eric Gaertner, editor at The Grand Rapids Press, and he’s been a working journalist for 30 years. “I haven’t seen that before, but I also haven’t seen a trial this high profile before,” he said.
Computers and cellphones are not allowed in court – we’re used to that. And federal courts have traditionally been more restrictive than the state’s district and circuit courts concerning photography. But photography is typically allowed in courtrooms during local trials.
For the Schurr trial, Neil Blake and Joel Bissell will be handling photo and video duties. “Joel and I don’t like that they are shutting out a still photographer until closing. It’s a different medium and there are some photos I would like – Schurr on the stand, etc.
,” Blake said. “And I don’t see a clear reason to shut that out.” Photography is an important element in transparency into our justice system, a part of allowing our journalists to depict a full story of the proceedings.
“At a time when trust in institutions is already kind of on edge you would hope that we could be more open, so the community can see some kind of resolution,” Gaertner said. “If you start limiting what they can see about it, I think that makes it hard.” Gaertner wrote the judge appealing the order banning photography in the courtroom.
She subsequently modified the order to allow photographers in the courtroom for closing arguments and the verdict. We don’t know if the modifications had anything to do with our appeal – again, the judge said she cannot comment. But it does a lot to make the reporting more transparent.
Mims had originally ordered a 30-minute delay in the video feed but dropped that stipulation. “The real worry for me initially was whether the feed to the media room was going to have a 30-minute delay or not,” Gaertner said. “We finally got that ironed out that it won’t.
” Blake, Bissell and our reporters in the room will be able to capture video footage and still images from that feed, as well as post updates in real time to MLive.com and our social media feeds. We’ll also have a reporter in the courtroom, even if they cannot report until breaks in the trial.
The stakes are high in this trial, for Schurr but also for a community that has struggled with race relations between police and its Black communities. Schurr is white, Lyoya was Black. Even after three years, emotions are raw – supporters of both sides clashed in the courthouse after Schurr’s arraignment.
Gaertner notes a rally is planned Sunday in Grand Rapids in support of Lyoya. “The current police chief was hired weeks before (the shooting) happened; he recommended Schurr be fired,” Gaertner said. “He says that since that point, they’ve made strides and he feels that it’s better again.
Opinions probably vary, but this trial will be a key moment in whatever comes next.” All eyes are watching. I’m thankful that on the eve of the trial, most of the blinders have come off.
# # # John Hiner is president of MLive Media Group. If you have questions you’d like him to answer, or topics to explore, share your thoughts at [email protected] .
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