NCJ Number
100705
Date Published
1986
Length
102 pages
Annotation
In reviewing the history of the fair trial-free press conflict in the context of particular trials, this book considers how free the press should be to photograph and broadcast trial proceedings, the extent to which trial procedures should be modified to accommodate new media technologies, and whether cameras and microphones should be allowed in the courtroom.
Abstract
After reviewing the U.S. Constitution's affirmation of both a free press and a fair trial, the book discusses how these rights conflicted in highly publicized trials, notably the Scopes trial, the Lindbergh kidnapping trial, the Billie Sol Estes case, and the Claus von Bulow case. Attention is given to the American Bar Association's 1937 passage of Judicial Canon 35, which recommends that cameras and microphones be banned from courtrooms. A review of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Estes v. Texas (1960's), which ruled that Billie Sol Estes' due process rights had been violated by the televising of portions of his trial, includes subsequent court interpretations of the decision. Recent State experimentations with televised trials and the Burger Court's refusal to prohibit the televising of trials (Chandler v. Florida, 1981) are discussed, and arguments for and against televising trials are summarized. 7-item bibliography and subject index.