Tribune editorial: In the courts and on the streets, our government needs to be as transparent as possible

The relationship between the people of Utah and their government does not have to be suspicious or adversarial. It just needs to be transparent.

Some accomplishments on that score in recent days have happened in our local courts.

In the high-profile case of Tyler Robinson, the young man accused of killing political provocateur Charlie Kirk in Orem in September, 4th District Judge Tony Graf has released a transcript of a previous closed hearing where attorneys debated such issues as whether the defendant could be dressed in street clothes, not prison garb, and whether he could be photographed in a way that showed him being shackled.

Everything surrounding the Kirk case is liable to set off myriad conspiracy theories about whether justice is being done or whether there is some kind of deep-state cover-up going on. Keeping all of these proceedings as open as possible, to reporters, photographers and the public — with proper concern for courtroom security and decorum — is the best our judicial system can do to retain public confidence.

In another courtroom, 3rd District Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills rejected, at least temporarily, a request to ban news cameras from proceedings involving a Salt Lake City man facing felony counts of aggravated child abuse and child torture.

Utah law presumes such proceedings are open to press and public. Keeping them that way protects all involved and is necessary to reassure all that the justice being dispensed, in our name and at our expense, is the best humanly possible.

Meanwhile, the Utah Investigative Journalism Project brings word that, in too many cases where local police officers fail to turn on their body cameras, officers who fall short of department expectations are lightly disciplined, if at all.

The pursuit of justice is already far too dependent on sorting out conflicting accounts of what happened. It benefits suspects, police officers and the public in general when interactions involving the police are recorded and, in due time, released to the public.

Excuses such as “I forgot” or the camera’s battery ran low are not acceptable. Officers who fail to fulfil this basic requirement of modern law enforcement must be made to realize this tool of transparency is key to the exercise of their duties.

Or they should be expected to find a different line of work.

Editorials represent the opinions of The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board, which operates independently from the newsroom.