# 119-s-1133: Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2025

119-s-1133, Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] (R-IA); status in_committee (as of 2026-08-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1133
- As of: 2026-08-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1133
- Congress: 119
- Title: Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2025
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-03-26
- Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] (R-IA)
- Cosponsors: 5
- Policy area: Law
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-11

## Summary

**Expands judges' authority to allow media coverage of federal court proceedings while protecting vulnerable witnesses and courtroom integrity.** This bill would let presiding judges permit photos, recordings, broadcasts, or televising in appellate and district courts under specific limits and safeguards. - Media: Presiding judges would be able to authorize photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising of hearings in appeals and district courts subject to courtroom rules. - Vulnerable witnesses: Non-party witnesses could request that their face and voice be obscured so they are unrecognizable on broadcasts. The Judicial Conference would have to issue mandatory guidelines within 6 months to identify vulnerable witnesses. - Jurors and jury selection: Coverage of jurors and the jury selection process would be prohibited. - Confidential lawyer communications: Audio pickup or broadcast of attorney-client conferences and other protected counsel communications would be barred. - Courts and limits: District courts' authority to permit coverage would end 3 years after enactment and interlocutory appeals could not challenge a presiding judge's media decisions.

## Cosponsors (5)

- Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-03-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL), 2025-03-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-03-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-03-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] (R-TX), 2025-03-26T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- District cameras, witness and juror rules: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would let a district court presiding judge permit photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising of proceedings they oversee. Non‑party witnesses could ask to have their face and voice obscured and judges must inform non‑party witnesses of that right. Judges c…
- Who decides on cameras and appeals: mixed, medium. If enacted, this bill would define who is the "presiding judge" and what counts as an "appellate court" for media decisions. It would let the presiding judge in an appellate case allow photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising of the proceeding. A judge must not allow coverag…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025
- 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas.
- 119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewellyn Kyl, former Senator for the State of Arizona.
- 119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham, a Senator from the State of South Carolina.
- 119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former Senator for the State of Michigan.

## Sources
- [119-s-1133 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1133)

## Related
- [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071)
- [119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1241)
- [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913)
- [119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewel…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-897)
- [119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham,…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-801)
- [119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former S…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-755)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1133 (as of 2026-08-11).