1. The clerk will only seek consent of the parties to video record a scheduled proceeding upon receipt of a specific request for video recording from the presiding judge, a party to the case, the media or a member of the general public. Upon receipt of a request for video recording and the approval of the presiding judge:

a. A Notification of Request for Video Recording will be docketed by the Clerk's Office for the scheduled proceeding.

b. Consent will be presumed unless a Party completes and submits a Party Objection to Request for Video Recording within 5 days of receipt and emails it to the assigned judge's courtroom deputy.  Do not e-file the Party Objection.  Party Objections will not be docketed or become part of the public record of the case.

2. Any party to a case, the presiding judge, the media, or the general public may request that a proceeding in a civil case be video recorded by completing a Request for Video Recording and e-mailing it to Eric_Smits@wawd.uscourts.gov.  Such requests must be submitted no later than 20 days prior to the proceeding at issue.  Do not e-file the request.  The clerk will send a Notification of Request for Video Recording to the parties.  After receiving a request, parties must then submit a Party Objection as described above.

3. Once the deadline for submission of Party Objections has passed, the Clerk's Office will docket a Notice Regarding Proposed Video Recording to inform the parties and the public of the outcome of the consent process (without disclosing individual parties' decisions about video recording).

4. A party may request that a witness be exempted from video recording of a proceeding by e-mailing a  Party Objection to Request for Video Recording to the assigned courtroom deputy.  Such requests must be e-mailed no later that 10 days prior to the proceeding at issue.

5. After a proceeding is video recorded, it will be made available to the public via the U.S. Courts Cameras in Courts Video Player Website and this court's website, generally within 48 hours.  The presiding judge may decide not to release all or part of the recording.

6. A list of recorded proceedings, along with a list of upcoming hearings to be recorded, can be found on our website.

Questions regarding these procedures should be directed to Eric Smits, Chief Deputy Clerk, at (206) 370-8434 or via e-mail to eric_smits@wawd.uscourts.gov.  Additional information about the Pilot Program can be found at the U.S. Courts Cameras in Courts Website.