TV or Not TV: Television, Justice, and the Courts (Twentieth Century Fund Book) - Hardcover

Goldfarb, Ronald L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0814731120 ISBN 13: 9780814731123

Publisher: NYU Press, 1998

Synopsis

In the last quarter century, televised court proceedings have gone from an outlandish idea to a seemingly inevitable reality. Yet,debate continues to rage over the dangers and benefits to the justice system of cameras in the courtroom. Critics contend television transforms the temple of justice into crass theatre. Supporters maintain that silent cameras portray "the real thing," that without them judicial reality is inevitably filtered through the mind and pens of a finite pool of reporters.

Television in a courtroom is clearly a two-edged sword, both invasive and informative. Bringing a trial to the widest possible audience creates pressures and temptations for all participants. While it reduces speculations and fears about what transpired, television sometimes forces the general public, which possesses information the jury may not have, into a conflicting assessment of specific cases and the justice system in general.

TV or Not TV argues convincingly that society gains much more than it loses when trials are open to public scrutiny and discussion.

About this title

About the Author:

Ronald L. Goldfarb is the founding partner of a Washington D.C. law firm. With law degrees from Syracuse and Yale Universities and extensive experience in courtrooms, he is also the author of nine other books, including most recently Perfect Villains, Imperfect Heroes: Robert F. Kennedy's War Against Organized Crime.

From Library Journal:

The author, an experienced Washington courtroom attorney, here attempts to reconcile the sometimes conflicting relationship between the First Amendment's protection of the news media's right to report court proceedings and the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of a speedy trial by an impartial jury. The author notes that television's scope and intensity can have such a profound impact in the jury selection process as to diminish the impartiality of potential jurors. Goldfarb calls this part of television's contaminating potential, which, he notes, is underscored by such disparities as evidentiary proceedings, in which the jury is prevented from watching or hearing parts of the proceedings that are widely seen by the public. However, it was television's wide-angle lens that placed into its proper perspective the conflict between the Simpson jury verdict and the public's widespread perception of his guilt. Goldfarb concludes that while television has the potential to pervert justice, the extent to which it enhances justice is greater. A better treatment of this issue could hardly be found; legal scholars and court administrators should add it to their must-read list.?Philip Y. Blue, New York State Supreme Court Criminal Branch Law Lib.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0814731120
• ISBN 13: 9780814731123
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 264