Photographer deletes photos to avoid contempt

OBERLIN, Kansas -- A newspaper photographer and reporter deleted photos to avoid being sentenced for contempt of court following a guilty verdict in a murder trial Wednesday.

Oberlin Herald reporter Stephanie DeCamp was found in contempt of court by Judge Pratt for having taken photographs in the courthouse hallway following the trial in which Dylan Coryell was found guilty of the second-degree murder of Corey Cook in 2011.

DeCamp deleted 11 pictures taken in the hallway from her digital camera, with the order that they are not to be disseminated or published in any manner. In return, Judge Pratt dismissed the contempt charge.

As the one designated video camera operator and/or one still camera operator selected from among all media personnel covering a judicial proceeding, "pool" photographers are required to follow closely the rules and regulations set out for the use of photographic and electronic equipment during legal proceedings by Kansas Supreme Court Rule 1001, which was the Court's effort to balance the rights of a free press under the First Amendment and the rights to a fair trial under the Sixth Amendment.

Judge Pratt ruled on Oct. 18, 2011, that photographic coverage of the Coryell proceeding would be permitted so long as photographers complied with Supreme Court guidelines, one of which states that "no video or still photography or interviews of persons in the public areas and/or hallways in the courthouse will be permitted."

Other guidelines bar the photographing of jury members or the use of a camera flash or artificial lighting devises.