Law Commons^™

This Isn't A Reality Show: How Social Media Livestreams Of High-Profile Criminal Trials May Violate One's Right To A Fair Trial, Ryan Fenn

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Since the invention of television in 1927, the American legal system faced drastic changes. In 1935, the first trial was broadcast to the public in the case of Bruno Hauptmann. During the trial, “[e]laborate telegraph equipment” was installed in the courtroom, with “sound and motion picture equipment . . . plainly visible in the [courtroom] balcony.” From 1935 on, broadcasting technology has been utilized in the courtroom to convey the inner workings of certain courts to the public, which has stimulated debate over whether the use of this technology is conducive to a fair trial under the Sixth and …

Targeting The Texas Citizen Participation Act: The 2019 Texas Legislature's Amendments To A Most Consequential Law, Amy Bresnen, Lisa Kaufman, Steve Bresnen

St. Mary's Law Journal

Few Texas laws enacted in recent decades have had a greater impact on civil litigation or been more litigated than the Texas Citizen’s Participation Act (“TCPA”) passed in 2011. Despite its stated purpose of protecting First Amendment rights, as written, the TCPA’s seemingly limitless application confounded judges and litigants alike, causing the 86th Legislature in 2019 to pass sweeping changes to that law. The Article describes the original statute’s problematic nature, the caselaw interpreting it, and the recent changes’ legislative history and substance. The authors highlight contributions of key legislators and stakeholders. The Article’s extensive treatment of changes to key …

As Pertains To The Criminal Justice System, Is Hindsight 20/20?, Syndie G. E. Molina, Cristina Negrillo

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Confessions, Convictions And Controversy: An Examination Of False Confessions Leading To Wrongful Convictions In The United States Throughout History, Kirandeep Kaur

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Unwanted Publicity, The News Media, And The Constitution: Where Privacy Rights Compete With The First Amendment, Ernest D. Giglio

Akron Law Review

It is ironic that while recent legal history records the emergence of a constitutional right to privacy, the Supreme Court, in a line of cases from New York Times to Firestone, has restricted the common law tort of privacy. The legal issues are particularly complex and admittedly difficult to reconcile when the public disclosure tort comes in conflict with first amendment privileges. Expansion of the privacy tort need not necessarily impose an unreasonable burden on the news media, provided the Supreme Court distinguishes between defamation and privacy invasion and establishes and applies to the latter wrong its own legal principles.

Chandler V. Florida: Cameras, Courts, And The Constitution, Allen F. Camp

Pepperdine Law Review

The rising importance of television journalism in the 1960's has resulted in the Supreme Court deciding whether a criminal defendant's due process rights are violated by camera coverage of the courtroom proceeding. The decision of Chandler v. Florida clearly provides the answer; for unless a defendant proves prejudice with specificity, the Constitution does not ban televised criminal trials. The author examines the issues with a revealing historical perspective. He then traces the Court's factual and legal analysis and concludes that the decision will serve to offer the states guidance in deciding whether to implement a program allowing television coverage of …

Legislative Response To Zurcher V. Stanford Daily, J. Kirk Boyd

Pepperdine Law Review

The author explores and surveys the legislative response to Zurcher v. Stanford Daily. While it is recognized that the debate and controversy is far from over, the resulting legislation, including the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, is viewed as being a significant contribution to the area of fourth amendment law. The author analyzes the applicable legislation in detail.

Negligent Infliction Of Emotional Distress: New Tort Problem For The Mass Media, Robert E. Drechsel

Pepperdine Law Review

Negligent infliction of emotional distress is becoming an increasingly popular cause of action to be utilized against media defendants. This article begins by tracing the development of the tort and explaining its central elements through cases involving mass media defendants. It studies the relationship between negligent infliction and the torts of libel, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. After considering the appropriate balance between expression and emotional tranquility, it is concluded that negligent infliction actions present an ominous threat to the free flow of expression. Sound policy considerations, flowing in part from the first amendment, dictate that …

Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. V. Greenmoss Builders, Inc.: Does The Actual Malice Standard Of Gertz V. Robert Welch, Inc. Apply To Speech On Matters Of Purely Private Concern?, Jeff Boykin

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Juror Journalism: Are Profit Motives Replacing Civic Duty?, Brent K. Ashby

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Wilson V. Layne: Increasing The Scope Of The Fourth Amendment Right To Privacy, Ashlea Wright

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

"Airbrushed Out Of The Constitutional Canon": The Evolving Understanding Of Giles V. Harris, 1903-1925, Samuel Brenner

Michigan Law Review

Richard H. Pildes argued in an influential 2000 article that the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Giles v. Harris, which was written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, was the "one decisive turning point" in the history of "American (anti)-democracy." In Giles, Holmes rejected on questionable grounds Jackson W. Giles's challenge to the new Alabama Constitution of 1901-a document which was designed to disfranchise and had the effect of disfranchising African Americans. The decision thus contributed significantly to the development of the all-white electorate in the South, and the concomitant marginalization of southern African Americans. According to Pildes, however, the …

The Usa Patriot Act: Civil Liberties, The Media, And Public Opinion, Lisa Finnegan Abdolian, Harold Takooshian

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Essay offers an examination of the legal provision of the USA Patriot Act. It then looks at the distinct shift in U.S. media reporting on this legislation over time, and in-depth public opinion findings on people's mixed views of post-9/11 civil liberties. This Essay concludes that media coverage of events is best accompanied by tracking polls, to chart how much and why the U.S. public is coalescing or further dividing on issues of individual liberties during crisis.

Recognizing A Constitutional Right Of Media Access To Evidentiary Recordings In Criminal Trials, Teri G. Rasmussen

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note advocates recognition of a constitutional right of press access to evidentiary recordings in criminal trials. It proposes methods for accommodating the competing rights of the news media to have access to evidentiary recordings used in criminal trials and the right of criminal defendants to a fair trial. Part I examines the source of controversy and sets forth the limitations inherent in the current common law presumption of press access to judicial records. Part II disusses the underlying values that require recognition of the constitutional right and suggests that such a right can be accommodated with a defendant's right …

A Unified Theory Of The First Amendment:, Mark S. Nadel

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The Supreme Court presently permits reasonable regulation of access in the broadcasting media; it nevertheless allows print publishers to foreclose such access. Although this approach has been praised by some, and a doctrine can only survive if there is a clear distinction between the print and broadcast media. In today's rapidly developing communications industry, the distinction between these converging media is unstable and inadequate. The increasing significance of cable television in particular has created a pressing need to replace the fragile double standard with a unified, all encompassing theory. This Article proposes such a unified theory after first drawing the …

Constitutional Law-Freedom Of The Press-Right Of News Media Personnel To Refuse To Disclose Confidenial Sources Of Information, Francis X. Beytagh Jr., S.Ed

Michigan Law Review

A former personnel director of a local Civil Service Commission instituted an action for reinstatement to that position, alleging that her recent ouster was illegal. In preparing for trial, defendant commission members took the deposition of a reporter for a local newspaper. Appellant reporter stated on direct examination that his suspicions regarding a contemplated attempt to fire plaintiff were in part based on certain information received from a confidential source. On pre-trial cross-examination appellant refused to disclose the source of this information, and plaintiff obtained a court order directing him to do so. On interlocutory appeal, held, order affirmed, …