I saw it on TV

In case you haven't heard, the acclaimed PBS series "Frontline" got the okay to remotely film upcoming jury deliberations in a Texas murder trial.

Needless to say, some Texas prosecutors are up in arms, worrying that a remote camera in the jury room would taint the integrity of the juror system, drawing people who want to be famous for being on a reality-TV show.

First of all, any qualms about maintaining the moral high ground, the court and TV went out the window after the O.J. Simpson circus in the mid-1990s. In that case, everyone got in to the act, showboating before the cameras. The remote camera in the jury room will be grinding away, without a live audience or pay-per-pundits on CNN or Court TV. Trying to equate a remote camera in a jury room with the overheated drama queens of "Survivor" is a weak comparison at best and it proves the Texas prosecutors are worried about a hard-hitting, smart news program like "Frontline" sitting over their shoulder.

Second, Texas hands down death penalty cases like speeding tickets. Reading a bit into it, one can imagine that prosecutors won't get a death verdict if the jurors know they'll be seen talking about sending a young man to die. Perhaps we might get a first-hand glimpse of what “12 Angry Men” showed: That choosing the fate of a fellow human being is a tricky and sometimes emotional business.

Third, jurors in celebrity cases talk to the media anyway after the trial ends. It's not like people are completely unaware of what it means to be a juror in the television age. Let’s give the jurors the benefit of the doubt. I’m sure that a lot of eyes will be on this case when the jury is deliberating. Any aggression or malfeasance by one of the jurors for TV notoriety will be punished, I’m sure.

Fourth, going back to the prosecution again, they know their case got a million times harder for them. Even though the defendant waived the right to a retrial because of any juror antics related to the camera, the pressure is on for the prosecutors to play fairly. After all, they are on camera, too. Everything they do will be watched. And even if the defendant loses and goes to death row, any bias or underhanded tricks by the prosecutors will be amplified into national debate when the program airs.

Granted, something like this could spin out of control if, say, FOX or CNN got a hold of it. Maybe that’s why we need “Frontline” to do it, to make an example of how to document a difficult legal decision with care, tact and good judgment.

Who knows, maybe the episode will get people interested in jury duty.