[JURIST] The New York Court of Appeal hears arguments Wednesday afternoon on whether the state's 50-year old statutory ban on the televising of trials is constitutional under state and federal law. New York temporarily allowed video coverage of trial proceedings for a ten year period beginning in 1987, but the authorization lapsed in 1997 and was not renewed. The challenge to the ban, imposed at the outset of the television age, is being argued by attorney David Boies representing Court TV with the support of the New York State Bar Association, which argued in a February amicus brief that appropriate safeguards could be built to coverage to avoid potential problems. A lower New York appellate court ruled against Court TV [text] last year. The Westchester Journal-News has more.