Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien pleaded not guilty to charges of influence peddling. The proceedings started with applications from media organizations to televise the trial live.
Judge Douglas Cunningham, the associate chief justice of Ontario's Superior court, ruled that TV cameras feeding live to the Internet would not be permitted but that the public and media in attendance can live-blog the proceedings in real time.
The judge had been cautioned by both Crown prosecutor Scott Hutchison and O'Brien's defence lawyer about sensitive, confidential or inadmissable evidence being blogged instantly onto the web before the judge could rule against such public disclosure.
Hutchison said Harper's director of appointments, Dave Penner, would be called by the prosecution to explain the Conservative government's appointment process, and that cabinet confidences could "inadvertently" be exposed.
"The problem with instantaneous world-wide distribution is that the genie cannot be put back in the bottle," said Hutchison.
Cunningham turned down the CBC's bid to have cameras follow the trial in real time, but agreed to a bid by Canwest News Service to have a reporter file instantly to a social networking site from within the courtroom. The judge's ruling effectively opens the gates to all media at O'Brien's trial to file real-time text stories by wireless device.
No pictures or sound may be broadcast from the courtroom.
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