1. Fair trial, free press: Can they coexist?
- Author
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White, Martha
- Subjects
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CONSTITUTIONAL amendments , *FREEDOM of speech , *FREEDOM of the press , *CRIMINAL justice system , *TRIALS (Law) - Abstract
This article reports on the panel discussion The First Amendment and Pretrial Publicity Restraints presented at the 1995 American Bar Association Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. The program examined the interface of the First Amendment, which guarantees the freedom of speech and of the press, and Sixth Amendment, which guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury. The panelists discussed circumstances giving rise to conflicts between the press and the criminal justice system. Counsel Richard Winfield described how some sources give information they know is inadmissible at trial to journalists who do not understand admissibility of evidence. In such cases, the prosecution, defense, or judge may want to learn the name of the source who leaked the information. Journalists are protected by qualified privilege under the First Amendment. But if the defense can prove that confidential information or the confidential source is crucial to the case and the information cannot be gotten anywhere else, the Sixth Amendment will trump the First Amendment and the shield statute. Gag orders are not always effective. Prosecutors enjoy a very broad grant of immunity and are rarely disciplined for violating gag orders.
- Published
- 1995