Avasha Jaiswal Dr. VanderVelden English 9 Honors May 10, 2024 How the surplus of media affects criminal proceedings and those involved in them Media coverage is one of the main sources of information to the general public, but it can also be one of the biggest sources of misinformation. Throughout the years, a variety of criminal cases have reached the public eye through the reporting of the media. However, criminal cases are complicated as there is usually no clear verdict about who the offender is as a person, what punishment they deserve, or if they even committed the crime until the very end of the case when judgment is passed. Despite this lack of clarity in the details of the case being investigated, the media is allowed to disclose certain …show more content…
Besides harming the legacy of the people involved in a case, the media also directly affects their case as the opinion of the media may influence the jury. While some believe that an unbiased jury is all that is required to get the appropriate prison sentence for an individual, the truth is that even without bias, juries can be affected by outside factors such as the media. In her article How Does the Media Impact a Criminal Court Case?, Madison Ferguson notes that “The jury members’ preconceived notions about the case will be influenced by the media’s portrayal of the events leading up to the trial.The coverage may have swayed potential jurors” (Ferguson). Media coverage is impactful enough to sway the jury’s decision. This can lead to unfair sentences based on what the media reports, instead of the crime …show more content…
Judges may see these reports and give longer jail sentences due to misinformation about the offender, causing them to judge the offender harsher. Media coverage has many other cons and is not just a problem in the short run (during the trial), but can extend even after a person walks out of prison as a return to normality is difficult because of the information that the media has permanently left for the world to see. This ruins an individual's life to the point that returning to normality even after attaining innocence is impossible as public opinion takes time to fade, leaving employers more hesitant to hire them and relationships harder to form. The hasty digital footprint left by the media also takes a toll on an individual’s happiness, besides being unable to return to their daily life as it is a permanent reminder of their misrepresentation. It must be bothersome to be seen as something an individual is not, but the world now believes they are because of falsifications from the
In July 2003, Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Shanks of Multnomah County Oregon was performing a routine traffic stop on a vehicle driven by William Barrett. During this stop, Shanks arrested Barrett because of an outstanding warrant and then searched the car. A pressure-cooker found in the trunk was believed to be used in the making of methamphetamine. Barrett informed Shanks that the owner of the pressure-cooker was “Gunner Crapser,” and that he could be found at the Econolodge Motel in a room registered to a woman named Summer Twilligear (FindLaw, 2007, Factual and Procedural Background section, para. 2). Deputy Shanks quickly learned that there was an outstanding warrant for a “Gunner Crapser” but to not confuse the wanted man, whose name was not actually “Gunner Crapser,” with someone else using this name.
Jim Morrison, the lead singer of the music group “The Doors”, once said “Whoever controls the media, controls the mind” (Quotes About Media). After George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin, the media decided to exercise that control. The media forced the state of Florida to bring charges against Zimmerman, misrepresent the facts in order to convince the public Zimmerman was guilty, and influence public opinion after the a verdict was reached.
Dioso-Villa, Simon A. Cole & Rachel. "INVESTIGATING THE ‘CSI EFFECT’ EFFECT:MEDIA AND LITIGATION CRISIS IN CRIMINAL LAW." Stanford Law Review 61.6 (2009): 1335-1374.
In reference to the media’s role, they have been highlighted for playing a part in maintaining these views by portraying victims in a certain way according to the newsworthiness of each story and their selectiveness (Greer, 2007). Furthermore, there has been an increase in both fictional crime programmes and crime documentaries, with Crimewatch particularly becoming a regular part of British viewing. In the modern context, crime has continued to represent a large proportion of news reporting and with the aid of social networking sites and self-publicity via the internet, journalists are now more able to dig even deeper into the lives of people on whom they wish to report. Newspapers continue to keep the public informed with the latest headlines and the internet has also provided opportunities for members of the public to have their input in blogs.
White, R., and Perrone, S. (2009) Crime, Criminality and Criminal Justice. Melbourne: Oxford University [Chapter 2 ‘Crime and the Media’]
The way the media portrays a trial influences many people’s views of the trial, such as the George Zimmerman trial. Racial profiling is based on the way a person looks or acts. The way some media portrayed George Zimmerman was as an innocent white man who shot Trayvon Martin as an act of self-defense. Other media such as NBC portrayed him as a racist. The way these two media portrayed him influenced many Americans to determine a verdict without hearing the trial. In the article “The Quiet Racism in the Zimmerman Trial” by Steven Mazie, he implies ...
The book Acquittal by Richard Gabriel states, “juries are the best judges in the system. They are not elected, they don't have the high-powered microscope of appellate review or the stern, disapproving-schoolmarm precedent looking over their shoulder, and they have no interest in the outcome of the case.” For this reason, we can come to the conclusion that the use of juries in a trial is the best for all involved in the legal system. While juries, “are the best judges in the system”, lawyers, jury consultants, and jury scientists are the reasons they are viewed this way. It is their job to make sure that not only their client, but everyone has a fair and unbiased trial.Making sure that “the best judges in the system” are fair and unbiased takes a lot of planning, research, and effort. You must research the jurors, understand how they think, what their morals are, and how they would view this case. “It is a constructed reality, cobbled together by shifting memories of witnesses, attorney arguments, legal instructions, personal experiences, and beliefs of jurors.”(Gabriel
The criminal trial process is able to reflect the moral and ethical standards of society to a great extent. For the law to be effective, the criminal trial process must reflect what is accepted by society to be a breach of moral and ethical conduct and the extent to which protections are granted to the victims, the offenders and the community. For these reasons, the criminal trial process is effectively able to achieve this in the areas of the adversary system, the system of appeals, legal aid and the jury system.
The general public of Australia has a common aspect when associated with their sources of knowledge of crime. Many would agree the media, especially newspapers and television, are their most frequent and well known source of crime activity. The media updates society with data about the extent, frequency and types of crimes committed (Moston and Coventry, 2011, p.53). Studies highlight our grasp of crime is majorly derived from the media, with a lack of exposure to police statistics or victimisation surveys. There is a concern in correlation to this fact since the media has inconsistency and inaccuracy in reporting crime. Due to this, the media can misrepresent victims and perpetrators, downsizing them to recognisable stereotypes (Moston and
The use of evidence and witnesses is a mechanism in which the law attempts to balance the rights of victims and offenders in the criminal trial process. Evidence used in court are bound by the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) and have to be lawfully obtained by the police. The use of evidence and witnesses balance the victims’ rights to a great extent. However, it is ineffective in balancing the rights of offenders. The law has been progressive in protecting the rights of victims in the use and collection of evidence and witness statements. The Criminal Procedure Amendment (Domestic Violence Complainants) Bill 2014, which amends the Criminal Procedure Act 1986, passed the NSW Legislative Council on 18 November 2014. The amendment enables victims of
Johnson, J., Keyzer, P., Holland, G., Pearson, M., Rodrick, S., & Wallace, A 2011, Juries and social media, Victorian Department of Justice, viewed 8 May 2014, < http://www.sclj.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/sclj/documents/pdf/juries%20and%20social%20media%20-%20final.pdf>.
The issue of pretrial publicity is a maze of overlapping attentions and interwoven interests. Lawyers decry pretrial publicity while simultaneously raising their own career stock and hourly fee by accumulating more if it. The media both perpetrate and comment on the frenzy -- newspapers and television stations generate the publicity in the first place and then actively comment on the likely effect that the coverage will have on the trial. When a high profile case is brought to trial, many media outlets report not only on the details of the trial, but also details about the persons involved, in particular the defendant. Much of the information reported regarding the case is released before the trial starts. Furthermore, media outlets may not only report facts, but also present the information in a way that projects the culpability of the defendant. By allowing pretrial publicity of court cases, potential jurors are given information that could sway their opinion of the defendant even before the trial begins, and how they interpret the evidence given during the trial. The right of a criminal defendant to receive a fair trial is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The right of the press, print and electronic media, to publish information about the defendant and the alleged criminal acts is guaranteed by the First Amendment. These two constitutional safeguards come into conflict when pretrial publicity threatens to deprive the defendant of an impartial jury. However, there is a compromise between these two Constitutional rights, which would allow for the selection of an impartial jury and allow the media to report on the details of the case. The media should only be able to report information once the trial has...
On May 23, 1924, public newspapers reported the kidnapping and murder of a fourteen-year-old, Bobby Franks. This case not only enthralled the Chicago public, but also remains one that is constantly reinterpreted in modern society today. Both Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were considered wealthy and academically gifted young boys. The media produced reports that presented the public with enticing information and helped unfold the mystery of the case. However, journalists magnified details and are ultimately responsible for shaping the outcome of the case. The reinterpretation of the Leopold and Loeb case illustrates that it significantly altered America’s perception of childhood experience, mental health, and the media’s role in criminal cases.
The media, both in the mainstream and alternative sources, determine how the community view crime and how it represents the victims of crime, criminals and law enforcement officials. Media organisations have arguably become the main source of news, entertainment, recreation, and product information in society. For many people, media outlets such as newspapers, magazines, social media and television broadcasts informs viewers about events that affect their everyday lives. This essay it will explore the many variations of how crime is mispresented to society through mass media organisations.
In the Gangi article, the author says after speaking with several employees in the corrections field “Unfortunately, most media outlets have sensationalized the stories of the few and have really painted a very bias picture to the public” (Gangi, 2016). This does not have the same effect that Durkheim would have wanted. Media coverage of something does not personally expose you to the prisoner or the punishment thus not properly reaffirming the collective