Bay City News says U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco will allow reporters and members of the public to use laptops and tablets during hearings in the case of Leland Yee, Raymond Chow and others, provided that the laptop users agree to abide by court rules.

The rules are that laptops and tablets can be used only to take notes and transmit stories. They may not be used for photography, audio recording or broadcasting of proceedings.

In addition, cellphones may not be used for any purpose in the courtroom and any phones brought into a hearing must be fully turned off.
Reporters wishing to bring laptops and tablets into the courtroom must submit an application stating that they understand and agree to the rules.

They will then receive a court-issued badge indicating they have court permission to use the equipment.
Laptops may not be used unless the court has accepted an individual’s application and issued a badge.

The next hearing in the case is a status conference before Breyer at 11 a.m. Thursday.

Further information and the application form are available on the courts website for the case: http://cand.uscourts.gov/USAvChow.