Astroworld music festival victims want their upcoming trial against Travis Scott, Live Nation and other organizers to be streamed live to the public, citing a public demand for “transparency and accountability.”
After more than two years of litigation over the 2021 Astroworld crowd crash – a disaster that left 10 dead and hundreds injured – the first jury trial is set to begin early next month. It will be a key first test for hundreds of other lawsuits filed by alleged victims who claim organizers were legally negligent in the way they planned and ran the festival.
In a motion on Thursday (April 25), lawyers for plaintiffs in the upcoming trial argued that it should be streamed live online, saying such a step was necessary to “ensure that everyone affected by the Astroworld tragedy can watch the process and stay updated on the progress of the trial.”
“The catastrophic scale of the events at Astroworld, combined with the involvement of high-profile defendants, has generated significant national attention and a legitimate public demand for transparency and accountability,” the plaintiffs' attorneys wrote. “By broadcasting the trial live, the Court will demonstrate its commitment to open and accessible proceedings, strengthening public trust and confidence in the justice system's handling of this consequential issue.”
A ruling that opens her courtroom to cameras would be a major change for the judge overseeing the Astroworld trial. Back in 2022, citing the risk of potential jurors becoming biased, Judge Kristen Hawkins imposed an unusually strong gag order that severely limited public knowledge of the status of the case.
Media outlets such as ABC challenged Judge Hawkins' gag order, arguing that it deprived the public of information about important court proceedings about a newsworthy event. But a Texas appeals court upheld the media ban last year without explanation.
Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed over the deadly crowd crash during Scott's Nov. 5, 2021, headliner at Astroworld. The cases, which collectively seek billions in damages, allege that the organizers are legally responsible for the disaster due to poor safety planning and failure to stop the show after problems were reported.
The lawsuits have spent much of the past two years in discovery as the two sides exchanged information and took depositions from key figures. But now the first trial in the mass trial — a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of Madison Dubiski, a 23-year-old who died on Astroworld — is set to begin May 6.
In seeking to have this trial broadcast live, lawyers for Dubiski's family argued that it was not practical for everyone involved in the trial to attend the proceedings in person: “There are hundreds of plaintiffs and their family members, many defendants and a multitude of counsel on behalf of ».
But they also hinted that they believe the judge may have misgivings about broadcasting the trial. The recording would be “conducted discreetly, with minimal disruption to the trial process,” the plaintiffs' lawyers said, and the judge would have the ability to “interrupt or terminate the broadcast if necessary to maintain order or protect sensitive information.” . And witnesses would be detained and asked not to watch the stream “to preserve the fairness and impartiality of the proceedings.”
The judge will likely rule on the motion next week before the trial begins.
