Mr Blair is no liberal, splutters Mr Kennedy: just look at New Labour's authoritarian record on asylum-seekers, jury trials, civil liberty and all the rest.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot

The Seventh Amendment guarantees a right to jury trials in federal civil cases.

FORBES: Seventh-Amendment Follies

But frequently, these kinds of trials only spark nostalgic civil rights demagoguery and sloganeering.

NPR: 'Mississippi Burning,' 41 Years Too Late

Last year, Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger - the top civil judge in England and Wales - said broadcasting trials could increase public confidence in the justice system, but warned that judges must have "full rights of veto" over what could be shown.

BBC: Court television plan 'in Queen's speech'