Attorney Rhonda Quagliana, who represented Huguely, said she was worried that cameras would have made it harder for him to get a fair trial. But she is not opposed to cameras in all cases.
“It’s a tough balance,” she said, noting that she had watched the trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd. “That’s an example of cameras in the courtroom fulfilling a vital purpose. People needed to see that trial. They needed to see the orderly administration of justice.”
Lawrence McClafferty, an attorney based in Fairfax, has been trying a case down the hall from the Depp-Heard trial, and has seen Depp’s supporters waiting outside every day for a glimpse of the actor. He said the commonwealth is not likely to see a similar situation anytime soon.
“Virginia is a conservative place,” he said. “We’re not used to cameras, and it can be intrusive and distracting, and one more thing for a judge to have to worry about. I don’t think we’re going to see a lot more of it.”
