NCJ Number
167469
Journal
Illinois Bar Journal Volume: 84 Issue: 11 Dated: (November 1996) Pages: 576-580
Date Published
1996
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Participants in the Allerton House conference in May 1996 considered media coverage of legal issues, whether the quality of news coverage can be improved without reducing the commitment to freedom of the press, and how attorneys can better educate journalists to ensure more balanced and knowledgeable coverage.
Abstract
The conference was sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association's Civil Practice and Procedure Section Council. Participants included attorneys, journalists, judges, and professors. Participants discussed the criticisms of the press and the ways in which courts and the legal system have tried to restrict press access to information thought likely to affect legal proceedings adversely. These techniques include orders directed at the press itself, ethical restrictions on attorney speech, and other methods. Participants agreed that real tension exists between the media, and courts, and attorneys and that it stems from a variety of sources. They expressed support for broader use of cameras in the courtroom and for more frequent contacts between associations of attorneys and journalists. Footnotes and attached results of responses to 49 statements on issues discussed at the conference