CHAPTER 6: Media Coverage of Courts and Judicial Processes: Trials, Publicity, and Sentencing

Main functions of courts

Courts adjudicate disputes, determine guilt, interpret law, impose sentences, hold hearings, decide bail, and hear appeals.

Media coverage—what is shown vs ignored

Media focus on dramatic trials and violent crime; ignore plea bargaining, hearings, bail, appeals because they lack drama.

Dual court system

State and federal systems operate independently, each enforcing its own laws.

Jurisdiction

Legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case.

Which courts get most media attention?

State courts, because most criminal cases (especially violent ones) originate there.

Why courts involving poor and minorities dominate media

The poor and minorities are disproportionately defendants; their cases reinforce stereotypes.

Adversarial process—myth vs reality

Trials are rarely adversarial; courts operate cooperatively, prioritizing case disposal.

Courtroom workgroup defined

Judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys collaborate daily to dispose of cases, not fight adversarially.

Roles of the prosecutor

Decides charges, negotiates pleas, seeks conviction.

Roles of the defense attorney

Protects defendant’s rights, negotiates pleas, offers legal counsel.

Roles of the judge

Oversees legality, manages case flow, rules on motions, imposes sentence.

Power imbalance in courts

Prosecutors hold the most power by controlling charging decisions.

Media portrayal of defense vs prosecution

Media exaggerate defense attorneys’ power; in reality, prosecutors dominate.

Significance of plea bargaining

Determines 95–98% of outcomes, replaces fact-finding trial, shapes justice system.

Problems with plea bargaining

Coerces pleas, assumes guilt, disadvantages poor, ignores factual innocence.

Why media ignore plea bargaining

Happens privately, lacks visuals, undermines courtroom myths, doesn't sell.

Media focus on high-profile trials

Creates drama and profit; distorts reality because such cases are rare.

Three media frames in trials

Abuse of power; Sinful rich; Evil strangers.

Issues with courtroom cameras

May influence jurors, skew public opinion, and encourage selective coverage.

Issues with pretrial publicity

Violates presumption of innocence; biases jurors before trial begins.

Sentencing in media

Rarely shown except in high-profile cases; public unaware of disparities.

Evidence of biased sentencing

Minorities and poor get longer sentences; crack vs powder disparity; harsher outcomes even controlling for offense.

Wedding Cake Model

A model illustrating how only top-layer cases get heavy coverage while most cases are routine and ignored.

Top Layer Cases

Celebrated cases with celebrities, wealthy defendants, or shocking crimes; get full trials and appeals.

Bottom Layer Cases

Minor offenses handled quickly through plea bargaining; little or no media attention.

Media portrayals of courts

Media present trials as frequent and dramatic; reality is cooperative administrative processing.

Reality of trials

Trials are rare; plea bargaining resolves nearly all cases.

Why media distort courts

Trials sell drama; plea bargaining is invisible and boring.

Courtroom cooperation

Workgroup members collaborate for efficiency, not adversarial justice.

Prosecutor power explained

Prosecutors decide whether charges are filed; judges/defense have limited influence.

Public misconceptions of court power

Media focuses on celebrity defense lawyers, hiding prosecutorial dominance.

Plea bargaining defined

Informal agreement where defendant pleads guilty in exchange for reduced charges/sentences.

Why plea bargaining dominates

Courts overloaded, lack resources; trials are too costly and slow.

Major plea bargaining problems

Ignores factual guilt, coerces poor defendants, undermines constitutional rights.

Plea bargaining statistics

95–98% of felony convictions come from plea negotiations.

Media-court relationship

Media need drama; courts produce routine paperwork; mismatch causes distorted coverage.

Camera presence issues

Trials turned into entertainment; incomplete coverage via sound bites.

Sound bite coverage

Only ~20% of courtroom footage shown; most is brief and lacks context.

Pretrial publicity effects

Influences how jurors evaluate evidence; undermines fairness.

Richard Jewell case

Wrongly accused by media in 1996 Olympic bombing; shows dangers of early accusations.

Sentencing ignored

Sentencing rarely covered, keeping public unaware of disparities.

Mandatory sentencing defined

Judges must impose fixed penalties; prosecutors control outcomes by choosing charges.

Three-strikes laws

Third felony results in life sentences; disproportionately harm minorities.

Drug sentencing disparity

Crack punished 100× more harshly than powder; 83% of crack defendants were Black.

Crack vs powder cocaine findings

Users: 18% Black; defendants: 83% Black — huge racial disparity.

Three common media frames

Abuse of power; Sinful rich; Evil strangers.

High-profile trial rarity

Only ~12 cases out of 150,000 receive sustained national coverage.

Media consequences

Viewers mistakenly believe trials are normal and adversarial.

Crime control emphasis

Media focus on punishment and state power, not due process.

Due process underrepresented

Constitutional protections rarely shown; fosters misunderstanding.

Typical state defendant

Young, minority male; 80% male, nearly 40% Black.

Typical federal defendant

Young, mostly white but minorities overrepresented.

Indigent defense

80–85% of state and ~65–70% of federal defendants require publicly funded defense.

Bias in sentencing

Minorities receive harsher outcomes and less probation even for same crimes.

Drug offense disparities

Black and Latino offenders receive longer sentences even when controlling for factors.

Courts interpret law

Courts shape how laws apply (e.g., obscenity, parenting, corporal punishment).

Stare decisis

“Let the decision stand”; courts follow precedent unless overturned.

Major legal examples

Citizens United; Dobbs overturning Roe; same-sex marriage rulings.

Court TV/truTV content

Focuses on sensational trials and rare cases; reinforces distorted court understanding.

TV portrayal problems

Planned murders overrepresented; mental illness exaggerated; violence seems more common.

TV vs reality

TV exaggerates premeditation; real murders often spontaneous and expressive.

Media influence on sentencing

Greater crime coverage leads judges to impose harsher sentences, driven by fear of crime.

Media reinforcing crime control

Crime control values dominate coverage; due process values sidelined.

Public misunderstanding

People assume adversarial trials are normal; in reality, courts rely on cooperative bargaining.