Analysis of the media's influence on the jury

Media has become the center to every aspect of daily life. According to a study conducted by researchers at the Center for Media Design at Ball State University, individuals spend 30 percent of their waking hours using media exclusively and another 39 percent using media while doing another activity. Amongst the media programs that the pubic views, approximately two-thirds of all prime-time television programs reference some sort of violence. The media’s portrayal of such issues has a great influence on how the public views society. According to professors across the country, the increase in support for the death penalty between 1979 and the early 1990’s can also be attributed to increased media involvement in such cases. The media has affected the criminal justice system in two respects: It has bolstered support for the death penalty by developing a fear of crime within the public and also influenced jurors’ verdict on cases by creating false perceptions about individuals involved with the case either through pre-trial media or previous media narrative.

Across the United States, crime rates have continuously been reported to decline. However, media sensationalism and exposure to crime creates the illusion that crime rates have increased. Such sensationalism has contributed to the Law and Order Syndrome. The Law and Order Syndrome states that “increasingly favorable support toward capital punishment is associated with rapidly increasing crime rates.” The syndrome also hypothesizes that there is a direct causal relationship between increased crime rates and fear of crime, capital punishment, gun ownership, and change in court system. This relationship is also supported by the Instrumental Response Hypothesis which states that “support for the death penalty comes from a desire to lower crime rates.”

Though the jury is not allowed access to media reports during the court proceedings, previous media narrative seems to influence their verdict in court cases. Instrumental Response Hypothesis and the Law and Order Syndrome show how jurors’ overall opinions of administering the death penalty are formed. Meanwhile, media’s influence on jurors’ thoughts does not have to come solely from news reports. A myriad of other sources such as television programs, radio shows, songs, video games, and newspaper articles also contribute to how the verdict is determined. For example, if a juror had previously viewed a similar case on television or knew how the verdict was determined, it may also influence the verdict on the current case. Judge Richard Baner’s order for scheduling rare late-night trial sessions in David Hendrick’s court case illustrates such an influence. Judge Baner chose to schedule the trial for this timing because he felt that the television show “fatal vision”, which depicted a similar story as the case would influence the verdict of the trial. Thus, in order to prevent the jurors from viewing the show, Judge Baner scheduled the trial for the same time as the program.

The way that the media presents information about a criminal case also seems to create support for capital punishment. The media is a market driven institution that constantly produces stories for public enjoyment. Unfortunately, court cases have also been included as a form of entertainment. It is astonishing to view the way in which the media can manipulate a serious issue such as a murder and make it into a story that the general public loves. For example, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills is a spectacular film that shows the extent to which the media will fall to present an engaging court case to the public. One scene of the film, in particular, with a news reporter amazed me. The news reporter was shown practicing her lines over and over again so that her script will interest the viewers. This scene shows how morally wrong it is to create entertainment out of someone’s pain. It disgusts me to know that people have the courage to even publicize such controversial and personal cases without proper credibility. Sadly, many other cases such as these are also present in our society. Sister Helen Prejean shows this in her novel Death of Innocents through the case studies of Dobie Williams and Joseph O’Dell. However, the media in O’Dell’s case is very interesting because despite the amount of attention his case received through the media it was not enough to save his life. Thus often mass media coverage of court cases sometimes it does more harm than help.

Furthermore, pretrial media reports are another huge influence on case verdicts. Media publicity of the case and the defendant dramatizes far beyond what is necessary. Presentation of the case in this manner often causes prejudices and stereotypes to be developed within the juror’s. According to a study conducted by researchers Hedy R. Dexter, Steven D. Penrod, and Amy L. Otto the evidence presented at trial can lessen the prejudice that is developed by pre-trial media but cannot eliminate it completely. Thus, pre-trial publicity has a lasting influence on the juror.

The influence of pre-trial media can easily be seen in the OJ Simpson case. Newspaper articles, magazine covers, and headline news all presented this case with interesting bylines that captured public interest. The media buzz was so influential that it was also a factor that was considered during Voir Dire. In fact, Judge Ito removed four potential jury members just because they watched TV. Even though the individuals claimed that they did not watch any news related to the OJ Simpson case, he knew that it was extremely difficult to avoid hearing about the case if one watched television. The media “poisons” everyone’s thoughts about the issue; preventing citizens from have a fair trial under law. At one point, Judge A. Ito’s disappointment with media coverage even influenced him to attempt to prohibit media access to the trial.

Media role in the OJ Simpson case raises some interesting questions to the public. When is media coverage too much? When should it be limited and when is it useful? These are all questions that can only be solved with a clear set of statures explaining the role of media in law. Clearly, the way that we are dealing with this problem has not been successful. Some have even sued the media for libel, yet the powerhouse is still in action and affecting peoples lives each and everyday. There is no way to escape media’s report on high profile cases. It is constantly being broadcasted to the public wherever they go. For example, the cases of Anna Nicole, OJ Simpson, and Scott Peterson have been continually telecasted for months and sometimes even years. The media exaggerates such cases beyond necessary and barely ever reveal the truth. I feel that the ideal solution to such media reports would be to eliminate pre-trial media completely or solely remove jurors who have prior knowledge of the case through media from court proceedings. Much change needs to be made to find the ideal role of media in the criminal justice system, but with regulations and some limitations it can surely be done.