Continuing with our coverage of cell phone bans in courts, TechnoLawyer member Sandor Boxer writes: "At least in the Central District of California there is no issue with cell phones per se; rather the problem is with cell phones which have a built in camera. There is certainly a local rule which precludes taking pictures in Federal Courts. As a result our local cell phone companies are well aware that trial lawyers need cell phones without picture taking capability (a requirement that eliminates the majority of cell phones being pushed by the cell phone providers). In addition, a few years ago I had a client stopped who had a cell phone which had apparently had the feature where with the push of one button it functioned like a walkie-talkie with another similarly equipped user (Nextel?). Other than that, no cell phone problems (as long as you remember to turn them completely off before the hearing starts)."
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