by TChris

Trial by media is a way of life in the United States. A handful of cases (like Kobe Bryant's or Scott Peterson's) receive nationwide attention, but local media place many other trials in the public spotlight. The struggle to balance the right to a fair trial and the media's right to report on a public trial is a familiar one in our courts.

The United States isn't the only judicial system wrestling with that balance. South Africa is confronting similar issues as it considers the impact of its Bill of Rights on the criminal justice system, including the issue of trial by media.

A South African law professor, speaking at a symposium Monday, called on the media and the judiciary "to get together and work out guidelines for reporting" on criminal cases in the aftermath of cases in which the media had "jumped on the bandwagon and reported on criminal matters" before they were tried in court. Some of those cases were dismissed.

She quoted a judgment by Judge Kees van Dijkhorst in which he said trial by newspaper was objectionable as it would lead to disrespect of the law. The judge said if the mass media was allowed to usurp the function of the court, it would lead to some cases not being tried. The public would then be led to believe that it was easy to find the truth in the media and subsequently disrespect the process of the law, he added.