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Lawyer: "A Chill Wind Blows"

NCJ Number
139381
Journal
Media Studies Journal Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1992), 77-86
Author(s)
W M Kunstler
Date Published
1992
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This defense lawyer contends that it is impossible to conduct a fair criminal trial in the United States because prosecutors are free to use the media to promote their case so that any jury eventually seated has probably been exposed to a barrage of unfavorable pretrial publicity that neither time nor effort can dispel.
Abstract
This lawyer also notes that most defendants subjected to intense publicity are incarcerated on high bails and are financially unable to hire public relations specialists. Defense lawyers can come to their clients' aid by forming defense committees, placing advertisements in local newspapers, holding press conferences and public rallies, writing news releases and letters to the editor, and making radio and television appearances. However, the Supreme Court and some attorney disciplinary agencies have barred defense lawyers from actively publicizing their clients' cases. Race of the defendant and the victim is another major factor determining the nature of media coverage. Yet the author claims that the press remains one of the best weapons at the disposal of defense attorneys because of the destruction of the appellate system due to the denigration of the Bill of Rights and the presence of many right-wing judges on the bench.

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