© ABC News Viewers see the criminal case of defendant Laura Trujillo from the inside in ABC's In the Jury Room. Cameras follow all aspects of the trial about the beating death of her daughter.

August 17, 2004

Hugh B. Terry was a Denver TV pioneer a half-century ago whose influence stretches into three of the six installments of ABC's documentary series, In the Jury Room. The first Denver-based program airs tonight on Denver's 7.

In 1955 Terry, president and general manager of KLZ-Channel 7 (now KMGH) and KLZ radio, led a media campaign to convince the Colorado Supreme Court to allow cameras and microphones in state courtrooms during criminal trials.

Advertisement

Under Canon 35, Colorado was the first state to allow such broadcast coverage. Today, several states still ban cameras and microphones from criminal proceedings.

Because of Canon 35, viewers were able to see highlights of the 1957 trial of John Gilbert Graham, convicted of blowing up a United Airlines plane, killing 44 persons.

Tonight's installment of In the Jury Room allows the nation's audience to be "flies on the wall" for last fall's trial of Laura Trujillo, charged in Denver District Court in the beating death of her 2-year-old daughter, Aliza Trujillo-Reighard - a beating a coroner called "one of the worst beating cases" he'd ever seen.

Trujillo, confined to a wheelchair, contended she took painkillers and fell asleep the night Aliza was killed, and the next morning found her daughter on the floor, not breathing. Trujillo's defense included accusations that her live-in boyfriend, Randy Ramirez was responsible for the beatings.

The cameras follow all aspects of the trial, as prosecutor Helen Morgan and defense attorney Scott Reich present their cases to the jury. Morgan and Reich also are interviewed separately on how they are building their respective cases.

Cameras also were allowed during confidential lawyer-client conversations, including one when Reich tells Trujillo, over dinner at Morton's, about the defense he's attempting to build.

The question arises: Should Trujillo testify in her own behalf? The result is a real-life version of one of the Law & Order franchises. Cameras then move into the jury room as the 12-member panel evaluates the evidence and tries to build consensus.

The verdict? You might not remember the high-profile case, so I won't spoil the suspense.

In addition to providing an involving trial, In the Jury Room offers a fascinating start to this series about our criminal legal system. On Aug. 24, In the Jury Room will cover the Denver trial of Bryson Knight, a 20-year-old college student charged with first degree murder. He admits he fatally shot a man but claims he acted in self-defense. In the spotlight: Mitch Morrissey, recently elected Denver district attorney, who prosecuted the case.

Early in September In the Jury Room returns to Denver for the case of Daniel Prickett, charged with the second-degree murder in the death of his brother- in-law, Arturo Garcia.

"We went to Colorado for the obvious reasons," says In the Jury Room producer Michael Bicks. "We've received fine cooperation because of the state's long-standing edict about electronic coverage.

"Colorado judges obviously feel that having cameras and microphones in the courtrooms provide viewers with an education about how our legal system works."

Ohio and Arizona are the two other states used in Bicks' series, which is narrated by Cynthia McFadden, ABC News' legal correspondent.

"Our aim is not to provide coverage of high profile, widely publicized cases like the current one involving Kobe Bryant," Bicks says. "We want to show how the jury system works in typical trials."

From the dramatic standpoint, jury room deliberations don't have the impact of the notable TV and film drama 12 Angry Men, or the recently-failed Fox fictional series The Jury. But the realism makes such deliberations worth watching.

LEGAL NOTE: Oprah Winfrey was one of the 300 people called to jury duty Monday in Cook County (Ill.) Criminal Court.

RATINGS ROULETTE: NBC's Friday telecast of the opening Olympic ceremonies drew a respectable 26 audience share, both in total viewers and the key 18-to-49 demographic.

This was slightly lower than the 29 share registered for opening night of the Sydney, Australia, Games in 2000. However, the cable universe has grown by 25 networks since then.

(An audience share is a percentage of total TV homes watching TV and tuned to a specific program.)

TODAY'S NOSTALGIA: Jack Paar replaced Walter Cronkite as host of the CBS Morning Show on Aug. 17, 1954. The series was trying to compete against NBC's Today.

In the Jury Room

• What: ABC News documentary series on court cases, focusing on last September's trial of Laura Trujillo, charged in Denver District Court in the beating death of her 2-year-old daughter

• When and where: 9 tonight, Denver's 7.

MORE SAUNDERS COLUMNS »

Copyright 2004, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.