Examples Of Pre Trial Publicity

Introduction
Pre trial publicity is a common element of a trial. However, it is more prevalent in a high profile trial. The issue with pre trial publicity is not the level of media coverage a case may attract, but its effect on jurors. The question is how courts can assess when publicity is so prejudicial that it merits prohibition of a trial on the grounds of interfering with the individual’s right to a fair trial. In Rattigan, Hardiman J said that while freedom of expression gave the media the right to publish material that is wrongheaded, ignorant, biased, prejudiced or simply wrong, it did not extend to material which states or implies that a defendant in a criminal case is guilty of an offence he is charged with. The basis for this
Naturally the most troublesome forms of pre-trial publicity involve information that jurors may have seen or heard concerning the case they must try. This is called case specific pre-trial publicity. However, it is also possible that what she terms “general pre-trial publicity” information, that is prominently in the news, but unrelated to the particular case being tried, may also affect juror’s verdicts. An example of this is the case of Gary Dotson, who was convicted of the rape of Cathleen Webb in 1977. In 1985, Webb recanted her testimony claiming she falsely lodged the original rape charge. According to Greene, such general publicity about the possibility of a false rape charge could affect juror behaviour in a completely unrelated rape
The information gathered tends to be for example researching jury instructions, definitions for legal jargon, substantive law and how the courts have ruled in other cases. The ability of jurors to look up information on the parties in the case such as the defendant, witness and even judges and lawyers can be quite problematic. A quick Google search is all that is necessary to produce the information required and social networks can also be used and sometimes provide much more information. Merely by viewing a person’s profile on a social network site, one can gain alot of personal information about that person. For example in a sexual abuse case involving two teenage girls, jurors independently viewed one of the alleged victim’s profiles on MySpace. If the jurors in question found information that led them to believe that the victims were promiscuous , the verdict of the case may have been impacted by access to this