The Impact of media coverage of criminal trials on the impartiality of the courts (original) (raw)
Related papers
Media Coverage of Trials-A legal uncertainty
To understand the antagonism of free trial and free media one needs to contemplate the developments of court and media and its present situation. There exists a typical connection between the Judiciary and the media and both assume an admiring share to each other where man is the principal point of their universe. Both the judiciary and media are employed with the same obligation; to find reality, to maintain the democratic based esteems and to manage social, political and financial issues. Media has been described by many as the "eyes and ears of the general public". Media intervention in under trial cases has turned out to be exceptionally typical in the general public. Judges are somehow constrained in some way or another to take choice as indicated by the follow up of Media feedback because of which, an assertion of a decision by media turns into the last decision in trial courts particularly in numerous high profile cases. Revived as an open court, media independently begins investigation and form the general supposition in the minds of the general public. It is obvious that to run the democratic form of governance easily and smoothly, a free and sound media functionary is required. But if we critically analyse the provisions enshrined under sub-clause 2, article 19 of the Constitution of India. We could see that the freedom of expression enjoyed by the media fraternity is usually taken to mean in a much more advanced way. That is to say that this freedom of expression by the media is not an absolute one and it could be said that it doesn't promote the flexibility to commit contempt of court. This paper is a modest push to discover the need and extent of media inclusion in the cases which are subjudice before the courts of Law and assuming a significant part thereto in setting up the fairness and justice in the general public.
The Presumption of Innocence and the Media Coverage of Criminal Cases
2021
The report aims to look at the various manifestations of the presumption of innocence in the context of media coverage of criminal cases. It represents a collection of papers by different authors, each highlighting a particular aspect of the topic: from the international legal framework and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights to the disclosure of information in cases of terrorism, cases against politicians and other high-profile cases. By shedding light on different problems related to the implementation of the presumption of innocence, the report intends to draw the attention of policy makers, criminal justice practitioners and the media on the importance of safeguarding the rights of suspects and accused persons in criminal proceedings as a key prerequisite for fair trial.
The Presumption of Innocence and the Media Coverage of Criminal Cases: Case Studies Analysis
2021
Despite the national and international efforts to safeguard the rights of suspects or accused persons, media publicity inevitably affects their lives. While human rights and other relevant laws aim to carefully balance the presumption of innocence, the right to privacy and the rights to expression and information, publicity inevitably reflects on suspects and accused people’s private sphere. This report presents an analysis of case studies to propose standards for proper disclosure of information on pending criminal proceedings and media coverage of criminal cases in the context of the presumption of innocence of suspects and accused persons.
The Relationship Between Courts and Media
Facta Universitatis, Series: Law and Politics
Judicial authorities have the difficult task to deal with the undermined public confidence in the judiciary and to reverse this trend in favor of a general appreciation of their work by citizens. Announced judicial reform which failed, the internal problems of the judiciary, as well as tabloidization by the media that create an unfavorable environment are the causes that have led to people doubting the achievements of justice and fairness conducted by the judicial authorities. Representatives of the judiciary can change such an image only with an active, not a passive attitude towards this problem. Reticence of the judiciary is not a good way to change the unfavorable picture of their work to the desired level. Consistent implementation of the principles of the publicity, demystification of the work of the judiciary, openness towards the media, is the path that leads to the establishment of trust in the work of the judiciary. Constant communication between representatives of the jud...
Computer Law & Security Review, 2012
Media and the courts Human rights ECHR Privacy Contempt of court Television and the courts a b s t r a c t Press curiosity to report on legal proceedings has been a salacious feature in history of mass media. Pre-trial comment, media coverage of press proceedings and the protection of privacy of the defendant are some of the main legal issues which are raised by the ambiguous relation of media to court proceedings. The Internet revolution and the emergence of the blogosphere have added a new dimension to the analysis of these legal issues. A balance between freedom of expression and the guarantee of a fair unprejudiced process has to be achieved in the context of application of legal mechanisms of protection of the justice's authority, such as contempt of court. As regards the question of media coverage of the court proceedings, the decision of the UK Supreme Court on May 2011 to permit television coverage of its hearings demonstrates an important shift as regards how publicity is perceived by the administration of justice in the UK, while there is a certain disparity between national legislators in the way they deal with this issue at a European level. The legal question of the protection of the defendant through the effective guarantee of the presumption of innocence and, consequently, that of a fair trial is often combined
Media Trial vs. Fair Trial: Are the New Media Reshaping Administration of Justice?
2018
Print and digital media have played a vital role in opinion building but it is often contested for having an impact on the fair trial process. This paper has put an effort to signify that the judiciary and the media are not the loggerheads contradictory to each other in the democracy; instead both complement each other. It analyses different paths through which media trials are affecting judicial decisions. Considering a wide variety of different media trial cases all across the world and its impact on judiciary, this paper emphasizes on the public interest in the fair administration of justice.
The Right of the Defendant for Public Hearing and the Role of Media in this Publicity
Acta Universitatis Danubius: Juridica , 2019
Legal base of publicity of the trial (according to ECHR) is Kosovo Constitution. Opening of court session is aimed at guaranteeing the development of an unmanaged process, avoiding the possibility of misuse, getting people to know more about court rules and at the same time encouraging judges to respect these rules. But if an open public hearing is incompatible with trial justice then priority is given to the latter. Therefore, the court may restrict public participation and media coverage to the extent necessary to protect other legitimate interests, even without revocation of such rights in full, especially in the proceedings against juveniles but also in cases where they are witnesses in procedure. Restricting publicity can also be made if national security is in danger. But, courts have been criticized for lack of publicity. In media reports on functioning of judiciary it is stressed out that they encountered many problems in obtaining information. During the preparation of this article, I have used the legal, comparative, statistical and analytical methods.
BANGOR SCHOOL OF LAW, 2018
It is an undeniable fact that, the press media (both online and offline based) possess a powerful influences on domestic litigation system in general and criminal justice system in particular. This scenario is quite obvious on jurors’ decision making over an ongoing criminal case in trial, and most of the cases, this happens due to the excessive media outbid over the matter. Statistical reports of the last two decades in the UK signify that, there have been an increasing trend in Jurors decision-making on cases in trial, that are being impacted on greatly by media sources, including newspaper reporting, radio and television newscasting or televised crime shows and courtroom scenes. This jurors’ over-influencing by media coverage against the accused in trial, ultimately violates the constitutional right to fair trial that stated under Section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and other International and domestic legislative instruments for the fair trial rights for all. However, a conflicting situation engendered, when rebuttal arguments from other scholars flinging from journalistic angles, emphasising the magnitude to realise the fundamental right to freedom of expression for all individual, from International and domestic instruments, owing to ensure good governance, administration of justice in the UK. This attitude of media correspondents and practice of the jurors, ultimately neglect the crucial gap between an accused and a convicted person, keeping at stake the golden ethos of ‘presumption of innocence until proven guilty’ and ‘guilt beyond reasonable doubt’ which has also been guaranteed statutorily in the United Kingdom, Regional and International instruments. The current Dissertation has been endeavoured to scrutinize all legal provisions under the UK laws and International instruments for the protections of fundamental rights to fair trial and freedom of expression for all individual. This research also considers all judicial decisions from domestic UK courts and regional ECtHR, that are relevant for guaranteeing these two rights. The research project come out with by proposing some policy recommendations against matters that creates obstacle for the realisation of these rights.
Legal Journalism: Objectivity in News Reports Covering Trials
The research aims to question the objectivity of Armenian news reports covering the legal field. Some journalists succeed in maintaining objectivity while covering the courts, nonetheless, there are several coverages with bias involved, which are distorting the insight the public has on the legal field. Interviews were conducted with the representatives of the legal, political, and media fields in order to collect the opinions of professionals on the matter. As a result of the interviews, it has become clear that several coverages undoubtedly contain bias, which can have serious consequences. The manifestations of bias can have multiple reasons, such as belonging of the news agency to prominent figures, demographics, and status of the accused and victims, the severity of the crime. In order to identify the bias, five news reports on the trial with the former president of RA Robert Kocharyan were chosen to undergo content analysis. The content analysis, on its turn, revealed nine manifestations of bias in five articles. Both latent and manifest cases of bias have been registered. The identified bias was expressed through different ways; phrasing, word choice, punctuation, and selection of quotes.