"And now on BBC1 we go live to the Old Bailey to cover the sentencing of Coldplay for crimes against music"

I've probably just alienated the vast majority of you reading this but I just can't stand Coldplay.

Anyway, I was reading this morning about the proposal to televise court proceedings and it got me thinking. I appreciate this won't be relevant to everybody, but anyone who's studying criminology or is likely to end up as a witness as part of their job may have an opinion. My concern would simply be that being filmed changes people's behaviour. Always. The X-Factor would be a wholly different experience without the cameras in there to whip people up into a big, lumpy frenzy.

The argument that it would demystify the legal process might well be true, but surely there'd be some negative effects along the way.
There was a nice debate yesterday I heard between Clive Anderson, TV personality and ex-barrister, and crime writer M.R. Hall which you listen to again via the Radio 4 website.
As always, this is purely my opinion. If you'd like some other opinions to read I'd recommend Torin Douglas's piece on the BBC website.

Finally, if you've ever observed court proceedings and are prepared to share it I'd love to read it as I've never been in a courtroom.