TRIAL BY MEDIA AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
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Introduction
The rate of crimes that are frowned upon by the media has tremendously increased over
the years. Attribution for this state of affairs is technological advancements, increased social
media access and media power. Frowning upon crimes by the media involves reprimanding the
alleged accused persons, their trial through many interviews and finally proposing conviction
without investigation and substantial evidence. Trial by media brings about a conflict between
the freedom of speech and the right to a fair trial. What are the limits that should be enforced for
a balance of the two rights to be achieved?
This paper is an analysis of the impacts of trial by media on the criminal justice system.
The essay will be divided into three sections. The first section is the introduction, followed by
analysis of trial by media and its consequences and finally, a conclusion.
Espousal of the notion of trial by media and its consequences
Media Contents
Trial by media is the media coverage of criminal cases, especially high-profile cases,
resulting in prevalent perception of guilt or innocence of the alleged suspects, before or after, a
court of law’s determination. A trial by media is only deduced if the press coverage impacted the
accused’s or suspect’s reputation to infer a perception of guilt before the determination of the
court. The outcome of media coverage of criminal cases is parallel investigation and
determination of crimes by the media and the courts of justice. According to Patodia and Obhan,
(2021), trial by media deprives the suspects and accused persons of their right to a fair trial.
Press coverage of court proceedings is however democratic in nature and promotes access
of justice. If press coverage of criminal cases turns into a trial by the media, the end set to be
Trial by media 3
achieved by the means to an end, press, wrongful convictions are likely to be entered. Media
influence can promote moral panic theories through offering of suggestions, solutions and
recommendations for the conviction or otherwise of accused persons. The conduct of the media
personnel with regards to criminal cases usurps the judicial roles of the courts.
Moral panic is a situation in which the media reporting authorities have created a folk
devil of a particular social group, and the public demand for action by the authorities to cure
atrocities the folk devil is subjected to (Cohen, 1972). Moral panics are based on exaggeration of
the actual threats faced by the society. Cohen’s moral panic theory is based on an illustration of
two hypothetical groups. The two groups, mods and rockers, co-existed peacefully. The two
groups were youth subcultures. They planned parties, during which minor vandalism took place.
The news media arrived at one of the parties and broadcast highly exaggerated stories on the
level of violence during the party.
The effect of the media coverage of the minor vandalisms in the mods and rockers party
was a drift between the two groups. The police were policing the future parties of the groups.
Many arrests for non-violent behavior on every party were recorded, making the groups view
each other as enemies. The media was the perpetrator of the enmity and arrests of people
belonging to the groups due to exaggeration of the status quo of the groups.
Freedom of press and administration of justice are complementary (Resta, 2008). The
objective of administration of justice may however be superseded if moral panics are raised and
trial by media is the end result (Naylor, B., 1994). The cases in point here are Amanda Knox,
Dreyfus, dingo baby case and OJ Simpson case.
Trial by media 4
Amanda Knox is a popular Italian murder case. The case is prominent due to the fact that
the defendants, were criticized by the public for a murder they had not committed (Gill, P.,
2016). Amanda Knox was convicted for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher in 2007.
She and Raffaele Sollecito had been wrongfully convicted and consequently sentenced for
Kercher’s murder yet they had alibis and were innocent. Amanda Knox’s case was decided based
on public opinion and the press. The two were convicted despite lack of evidence linking them to
the scene of the crime. Amanda’s case is one of wrongful accusation and conviction in the public
eye.
Amanda and Raffaele spend four years in prison. They were later acquitted after thorough
investigation was conducted and the forensic evidenced adduced directly linked the murder of
Kercher to Rudy Gruede (Freyenberger, D.D., 2013). After Amanda’s release, The British Daily
Mail became obsessed with her daily life activities to the extent that they send a stalker to take
photographs of her and monitor her every move. The behavior of the media despite the
declaration of the innocence of Amanda is questionable.
The Dreyfus case is an 1894 France case. This case is an illustration of how the media
can promoted anti-Semitism in the Criminal Justice System. Alfred Dreyfus was a France Army
Officer and he was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for 11 years for the offence of spying
(Derfler, L., 2002). The anti-Semitism was promoted by the newspaper La Libre Parole. The
case attracted a lot of public opinions which resulted in Dreyfuans and non-Dreyfuans. Those
who believed that Dreyfus was innocent and those that believed that he was guilty respectively.
Dreyfus was exonerated in 1906 and reinstated in the army.
The dingo baby case is an Australian case. It involves the murder of Azaria Chamberlain
by a dingo (Middleweek, B., 2017). The mother of the child was arrested, charged and convicted
Trial by media 5
for the baby’s murder. Azaria’s mother was sentenced to life imprisonment. She was later
released eight years later and paid $1.5 M for wrongful conviction. It took four decades for an
inquest to be conducted that ruled that Azaria had been murdered by dingo. The media also
adversely influenced the decision of the courts in this case.
OJ Simpson case is a 1995 California case. OJ Simpson was wrongfully arrested, charged
and convicted for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, her ex-wife and her friend Ronal
Goldman. OJ Simpson hid when he heard that he was the prime suspect in the murder. His
attempted “escape” was broadcasted live on many television channels. OJ’s murder case was the
focus of most television stations attracting a lot of speculations and public opinion about his guilt
or innocence. OJ’s trial was conducted and he was acquitted of the charges. Simpson’s acquittal
was not the end of his criminal case since he was charged with wrongful death and found guilty
for the murders. Conviction for the murders was along racial lines since most media speculations
and division on the case was racial.
The takeaway from the above case scenarios is that trial by media is not a twenty-first
century concept but a concept that has been more widespread over the years with technological
advancements. Trial by media is an inhibition to the administration of justice to defendants and
accused persons in criminal cases. Further, moral panic created by the media and press is the
main promoter of trial by media. Exaggeration of a criminal case as against the defendant or
incriminating the defendant is a violation of the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty
by a court of law.
Media Production
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The modus operandi of media coverage of criminal cases is the compelling force towards
a trial by media. This is so because, whenever the press cover criminal cases they may provide
evidence that would otherwise be illegally obtained evidence in a court of law. Repeated airing
and discussion of a particular case by the media attracts more public opinion which in effect
influences and prejudices the defendant’s position in the case and ultimately, the final court
determination.
Media effect on the Criminal Justice System
Unnecessary influence of the media on criminal cases puts pressure on the criminal
justice system and its modus operandi. Biasness and prejudice may also arise from the press and
media coverage of crimes before the final court determination. The role of the media in a trial by
media is that of a parallel jury. This implies that, in contrast to the media complementing the
courts of justice, it engages in competition with the courts under the label striving for justice of
the victims. The overall effect is inefficiency in the criminal justice system and tarnishing of the
defendant’s reputation which in effect leads to lack of a fair trial.
Conclusion
Where should the balance between the freedom of speech and right of a fair trial? Limits
on the role of media and press should be clearly outlined to prevent usurpation of the right to a
fair trial by the freedom of speech and press. Trial by the media results in miscarriage of justice
as illustrated in the cases above. Prevalence of trial by media will result in grave injustices to
defendants and rampant wrongful convictions if not tamed.
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References
Cohen, S., 2011. Folk devils and moral panics. Routledge.
Derfler, L., 2002. The Dreyfus Affair. Greenwood Publishing Group.
Freyenberger, D.D., 2013. Amanda Knox: A content analysis of media framing in newspapers
around the world (Doctoral dissertation, East Tennessee State University).
Gill, P., 2016. Analysis and implications of the miscarriages of justice of Amanda Knox and
Raffaele Sollecito. Forensic Science International: Genetics, 23, pp.9-18.
Middleweek, B., 2017. Dingo media? The persistence of the “trial by media” frame in popular,
media, and academic evaluations of the Azaria Chamberlain case. Feminist Media
Studies, 17(3), pp.392-411.
Naylor, B., 1994. Fair trial or free press: Legal responses to media reports of criminal trials. The
Cambridge Law Journal, 53(3), pp.492-501.
Obhan A & Patodia Vrinda, Trial By Media: Is The Media The Best-Storyteller?,2021
https://www.mondaq.com/india/broadcasting-film-tv-radio/1030528/trial-by-
media-is-the-media-the-best-storyteller accessed on 22 April 2022
People of The State of California, plaintiff, v. Orenthal James Simpson, aka O.J.Simpson, defendant. Case
No. BA097211
R v. Chamberlain, 156 J.P. 440, 13 Cr App R. (S) 525 (1992).
Trial by media 8
Resta, G., 2008. Trying cases in the media: a comparative overview. Law and Contemporary
Problems, 71(4), pp.31-66.
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