WINFIELD, W.Va. -- A national media organization has asked the judge in a huge pollution trial against Monsanto Co. to reconsider his ruling denying their request to place a camera in the courtroom and stream a live feed of the trial over the Internet.

In a letter, Atlanta-based Courtroom View Network told Mercer Circuit Judge Derek Swope, who is presiding over the case, that they have successfully broadcast dozens of civil trials across the nation, including some in West Virginia.

David Siegel, director of court relations for CVN, told the Gazette he believes Swope denied the network's request because lawyers for Monsanto objected.

"Party consent is flatly not required under West Virginia media access guidelines, so it is extremely disturbing Judge Swope would exclude the media from a trial of this scale and importance," said Siegel, before learning local television stations will be allowed to film the proceedings as long as jurors are not depicted.

The plaintiffs in the case are thousands of current and former Nitro residents who claim that Monsanto polluted their town during the days when it made the Vietnam-era defoliant Agent Orange at a nearby facility.

The lawsuit seeks medical monitoring for at least 5,000 -- and perhaps as many as 80,000 -- current and former Nitro residents.

The West Virginia Supreme Court's rules on cameras in the courtroom say the issue is within the trial judge's discretion.         

Swope's Dec. 22 order denying CVN's request for trial access stated, "The Court denies CVN's request because the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals will provide a live feed of the courtroom trial proceedings to the old courtroom located on the second floor of the Putnam County Courthouse for public access."

At a hearing in September, when the issue of broadcasting the trial over the Internet was discussed, Swope said he would not permit it because of concerns that clips could be manipulated and taken out of context.

Siegel said he doesn't understand why the judge is permitting local stations access but denying CVN's request.

"If the judge has a problem with the trial being streamed online, will he forbid local media from posting coverage on their websites?" Siegel said.

In communications to the court, CVN has stated that its video of past trials has been made available to other news organizations and its customers, who pay a fee for access to the broadcasts, are primarily legal professionals, students and faculty at more than 50 law schools.

"CVN understands and respects courtroom decorum. CVN covers proceedings in full, without commercials or commentary of any kind. No reporter acts as an intermediary between the proceedings and the audience," the network wrote in its initial request for access.  "Many jurists have recognized that this type of non-sensationalized, non-commercial coverage is particularly appropriate for judicial proceedings, and is the best way to balance the litigants' right to a fair trial with the public's right to open courts."

CVN recently covered the Ohio County tobacco trial that involved more than 1,000 plaintiffs before it ended in a mistrial in November last year. The network had also been given permission, Siegel said, to film the Mingo County coal slurry case against Massey Energy before a settlement was reached.

Reach Kate White at kate.wh...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1723.