Chuck Williams: Want to tweet out of federal court? First, you have to ask | Chuck Williams | Columbus Ledger Enquirer

We all know the rules, but every now and then if you ask — and your request is not unreasonable — you might be surprised by the answer.

That was the case a couple of weeks ago in federal court.

First, I asked if I could bring an iPad into U.S. District Court during a gender discrimination trial involving Muscogee County Sheriff John Darr. In reporting these days, some of us use an iPad more than a notepad.

Only attorneys are allowed to bring computers, iPads and cellphones into the courtroom in Middle District of Georgia. It’s a hard and fast rule. But we all know federal judges have broad powers to bend rules.

To my surprise, Judge Clay Land said yes.

Once the iPad was in the courtroom, through a court officer I asked the judge a second question. What are my limitations? Specifically I wanted to know if I could post to social media during the trial.

Land was open to the idea of making his courtroom more transparent.

After consulting with the attorneys while the jury was on a 15-minute break, Land said yes again, this time in open court on the record.

By saying yes twice, Land became the first judge in Georgia’s Middle District to allow a reporter to tweet during a federal trial.

Why?

“Maybe you are the first reporter to ask,” Land said in an interview Monday.

Maybe, but it is clear there was an overriding reason. Land has long been on the record that the federal courts should be transparent.