Smart glasses are running into a growing wall at the COURTHOUSE door, and the rules are NOT the same from one state to the next. A New York juror must hand over ANY RECORDING-CAPABLE glasses, prescription or not. Starting NOVEMBER 2, VISITORS to Maryland’s two FEDERAL courthouses will lock up nearly every CONNECTED DEVICE, yet jurors and bar members keep theirs. Illinois has taken a softer route, adding “smart eyewear” to an existing device POLICY rather than banning it outright. The THREE APPROACHES were laid out SIDE BY SIDE in an October 9 explainer from Gadget Clarity.
New York: every pair, every visitor
New York’s rule is the STRICTEST. An amended July 1 memo from Justin A. Barry of the Unified Court System PROHIBITS smart glasses inside ANY UCS facility, EFFECTIVE JULY 20, 2026. It defines them as “eyewear or headwear containing a camera, microphone, computer or other technology that permit the user to record video or audio – either prescription or non-prescription.”
Nobody carrying a pair gets in unless the glasses are “vouchered” for SAFEKEEPING by uniformed personnel for the length of the VISIT. The memo names who that covers: litigants, attorneys, witnesses, family members, court EMPLOYEES, and anyone else entering “for any reason.” The stated PURPOSE is to stop people from SECRETLY recording proceedings in violation of the New York State Civil Rights Law. Bloomberg Law reported the ban reaches more than 1,240 courts, and that the Office of Court Administration did NOT answer questions about how it would DETECT the devices.
The memo contains NO exception for jurors or for medical need. Gadget Clarity notes that the sign attached to it tells people with prescription smart glasses to bring a REGULAR pair, which leaves a JUROR WITHOUT one spending the day without corrected vision.
Maryland: a wider net, more exemptions
Maryland’s FEDERAL rule is BROADER in what it covers but gentler in who it covers. Under Standing Order 2026-04 of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, visitors to the courthouses in BALTIMORE and GREENBELT may not bring in laptops, phones, tablets, cameras, smartwatches, smart glasses, earpieces, fitness trackers, or any other device that can photograph, record or communicate wirelessly. Devices go into LOCK BOXES in the LOBBY.
The exemptions are where Maryland departs from New York. Sitting and prospective JURORS who show a SUMMONS are EXEMPT, as are members of the court’s bar with an electronic CREDENTIAL. Pro se litigants, media, attorneys’ staff and “individuals with a special need” can ask ahead of time through an Electronic Device Request form, according to Gadget Clarity’s reading of the order.
Illinois: policy, not a ban
The Illinois Supreme Court amended its Policy on Portable Electronic Devices to add “smart eyewear” to the list of COVERED devices. That policy, in force since 2022, does NOT ban devices. It requires each courthouse to adopt a LOCAL rule, keeps devices SILENT in courtrooms without a judge’s permission, and FORBIDS photos and recordings. A full ban requires an order from a circuit’s CHIEF JUDGE. In practice, OWNERS face a PATCHWORK that can change from county to county.
Earlier precedent: Philadelphia
New York was not FIRST. Philadelphia’s First Judicial District began barring recording-capable glasses on MARCH 30, 2026, and its posted order warns of criminal CONTEMPT, removal, or arrest for unauthorized recording.
Why it matters
The open question is ACCESSIBILITY. New York’s test is simply whether glasses CAN record, so CAMERA GLASSES used as a HEARING AID are treated like any other pair. Meta has said hearing enhancement for its camera glasses reaches U.S. owners before the end of 2026; under New York’s memo those frames would still be SURRENDERED. Camera-free hearing glasses such as Nuance Audio fall into a GRAY area, since the memo addresses microphones only as recording technology and offers no exception process. Maryland, by contrast, has a SPECIAL-NEED route.
For buyers, the PRACTICAL advice is plain: if a court date is coming, CALL the court named on the summons and keep a NON-SMART pair of glasses on hand. As makers push more MICROPHONES and CAMERAS into ordinary-looking frames, the COURTHOUSE IS becoming one of the first places where “just glasses” stops being true.