Victoria Dalzell

CMST102
Podcast Assignment

The legal information institute reflects that the Sixth amendment guarantees the rights of
criminal defendants, including the right to a public trial without unnecessary delay, the right to a
lawyer, the right to an impartial jury, and the right to know who your accusers are and the nature
of the charges and evidence against you. (Cornell Law)
Mass media has the power to influence your opinion on a trial before it even gets completed.
Local news casts are likely to obtain partial information and broadcast their story. Such vague
information on a trial may influence your opinion of the defendant before they have a fair chance
to defend themselves.
Major news channels such as CNN may air opinion stories as the trial is ongoing. Miss Nancy
Grace is famous for getting her hands dirty in some high profile cases and arguing for or against
based on the information that is available. Please note that she does do all of her research before
going on the air.
Social media may have an even bigger influence on the pretrial and trials of high profile cases.
How many times have you been scrolling through a news feed on social media and encountered
opinions or tid-bits of information pertaining to a high profile case that is ongoing!?
Jury selection occurs by a thorough screening process. Potential jurors are asked numerous
questions pertaining to their personal lives and their knowledge, if any, of the case up before
them.
On occasion, the parties can motion to move jury selection to outside counties to help prevent
impartial jurors from being selected.
Still, even after a sound jury has been selected, mishaps and leaks can happen.
The involved parties and jurors are to keep quiet about the case to outside sources. Occasionally,
information will be leaked and the media outlets will get hold of it and spin it in any fashion they
deem fit.
To prevent this from happening, judges have one concise option, which is allowing the
opportunity to hear motions for, or to impose on their own will, gag orders. Which are a form of
prior restraint that prohibit parties, lawyers, prosecutors, witnesses, law enforcement officials,
jurors and others from talking to the press (rcfp)
If individuals involved with the case leak information, opinions, or thoughts about the case into
their personal social media profiles, be it Facebook, Twitter, or similar sites, serious
consequences can occur not only for the individual who spoke out, but also for the case they are
reviewing.
The American bar association says this: Perhaps the most noteworthy case involving juror
misconduct and social media is Dimas-Martinez v. State trial, in which the Supreme Court of
Arkansas overturned a murder conviction because a juror posted messages about the case on his
Twitter account. (American bar association)

Victoria Dalzell
CMST102
Podcast Assignment

People are going to form their opinions regardless of where they get their information from. The
information that media presents is not always factual or complete. Social media acts as a
platform for a forum of opinions to fly wild. In some cases, misinformation can be spread like
wildfire, and heated debates of who is guilty or innocent will commence.
In the end, the mass media does open some doors for interfering with the right of a fair trial, but
it is the worst case scenario, and very rare that leaks will either put a damper on or a halt to a
trial. It is each individuals first amendment right to have freedom of speech to voice their
opinions on a case, we just need to make sure that the decisions we are making are not
discriminatory and made on incomplete presentation of evidence synthesized by mass media
outlets!

Works cited:
Media Content:
http://www.audiomicro.com/orchestra-trumpets-regal-courtroom-drama-royalty-free-stockmusic-770308
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AYwIFZAbRE
Factual Content:
(http://apps.americanbar.org/litigation/committees/trialevidence/articles/summer2013-0813justice-social-media-impact-us-jury-system.html
http://www.rcfp.org/first-amendment-handbook/introduction-what-do-if-court-issues-gag-order
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/sixth_amendment