Requests for Media Authorization
The Southern District of Florida is committed to facilitating access to court dockets, documents and proceedings for journalists.
For District access, the term "news media" means a newspaper or other periodical issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic format, a news service whether in print or electronic format, a radio station, a television station, a television network, a community antenna television service, or a person or corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion picture news for public showing. Enrollment as a student in a journalism or media program alone is not sufficient criteria to qualify.
Please complete a Media Access Application and allow 5 (five) business days for processing. Requests to expedite cannot be accommodated.
Upon approval, reporters will be added to a list made available to court security personnel assigned to each courthouse. Approved reporters may engage in limited use of electronic equipment, subject to policy set by the District, or by an individual judge.
Media authorizations expire on December 31st of each year and must be renewed annually.
By applying, you acknowledge the following:
- Receipt of a copy of Administrative Order 2018-79 and Administrative Order 2019-87A
- Use of electronic devices inside courtrooms is permissible only in text function mode. Reporters will not record or transmit any audio, still photography, or video from anywhere inside any courthouse including courtrooms and any lobby areas of any building housing a federal court within the District. Transmission of live feed is strictly prohibited. Creating a verbatimrecord of any proceeding is also prohibited.
- Knowing or willful violations of the Court’s Administrative Orders may result in contempt of court proceedings and/or removal from the Court's approved media list.
Credentialed Media: News media members employed by news organizations must provide a copy of valid, unexpired media credentials from their employing agency.
Non-Credentialed: News media members who do NOT possess valid media credentials must submit the following:
- A letter on official letterhead from the applicant’s editor indicating the applicant’s role within the employing news agency
- A copy of a valid state issued photo ID
- Links to ten articles, commentaries, books, photographs, videos, films, or audio recordings that were written, created, or produced by the applicant. At least five of the ten items must be related to different cases/matters and not a single event/subject, and at least three must have been posted/published within the previous 24 months.
- Non-credentialed journalists who cannot provide an editor’s letter may request special consideration. In place of an editor’s letter, the request should objectively demonstrate that the journalist’s reporting has significant public outreach. Processing of special requests may require more than 5 business days, and there is no presumption that such requests will be approved.
Special instructions regarding Fort Pierce Courthouse: Pursuant to Administrative Order 2023-47, cellular phones and/or electronic equipment are hereby prohibited for news reporters and other members of the media inside the Alto Lee Adams, Sr. United States Courthouse in Fort Pierce. See Administrative Order Regarding Electronic Equipment (Fort Pierce) 
.
District and Magistrate Judges retain discretion to maintain order in their courtrooms should the entry and exit of journalists become disruptive.