“Media circus” cases

Most Americans can name several criminal cases over the past few years that have gained such national notoriety that they have become “media circuses.” (Civil cases don’t seem to have the same compelling attraction.) We cannot examine what has been written about each of these cases individually on this Web site, although you can visit the fascinating Web site by Professor Douglas O. Linder of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School entitled "Famous Trials."

Web pages are always available concerning the latest "media circus" cases; for example, as to the D.C. sniper cases, click here, and for Martha Stewart, click here.

Here is a reading list of articles that take the broader view and examine issues that such high-profile cases have in common:

Jeffrey S. Johnson, Comment, The Entertainment Value of a Trial: How Media Access to the Courtroom Is Changing the American Judicial Process, 10 Vill. Sports & Entertainment L. J. 131 (2003).

Mawiyah Hooker & Elizabeth Lange, Limiting Extrajudicial Speech in High-Profile Cases: The Duty of the Prosecutor and Defense Attorney in Their Pre-Trial Communications with the Media, 16 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 655 (2003).

Patricia J. Falk, Introduction, Toward More Reliable Jury Verdicts?: Law, Technology, and Media Developments Since the Trials of Dr. Sam Sheppard, 49 Clev. St. L. Rev. 385 (2001).

John A. Walton, Struck by the Falling Bullet: The Continuing Need for Definitive Standards in Media Coverage of Criminal Proceedings, 49 Clev. St. L. Rev. 407 (2001).

Laurie Levenson, Witness to History: The Role of Legal Commentators in High Profile Trials, 49 Clev. St. L. Rev. 439 (2001).

Joan Gladstone, Trial by Media, Managing News Coverage of Your Case, Your Client, and Yourself, 43 Orange County Lawyer 22 (2001).

Richard Gabriel, “This Case Is Brought to You By . . .”: How High-Profile Media Trials Affect Juries, 33 Loy. L. A. L. Rev. 725 (2000).

Gerald T. Wetherington, Hanson Lawton & Donald I. Pollock, Preparing for the High Profile Case: An Omnibus Treatment for Judges and Lawyers, 51 Fla. L. Rev. 425 (1999).