I believe that the TV and media culture has strongly influenced the judicial system in today's world. Before court cases were televised it was all about getting the correct justice for the people that are trial whether it was a civil trial or a criminal one. No that we have put cameras in court rooms and opened it up for the public to see, I think that these cases are now more a matter of public opinion and entertainment than anything else. The more the public see's and hears the more the jury will be swayed in one direction or the other based on what the people around them are saying rather than thinking for themselves and finding out the truth of trial in the first place. The OJ is a huge example of how media coverage played a role in the trial overall. That trail was broadcasted all over america, news channels stopped their broadcasting to watch the OJ case. The public knew everything going on and they could make their own opinions as they chose. It got so bad that they had to keep the jurors basically locked away during the whole course of the trial, so that they did not get swayed by the public opinion or ran over with questions from the media that was coming after them. To the public this is just entertainment for them, and they don't care what they outcome happens to be they just want a good show.
Speaking of shows, Many shows such as Judge Judy, or Suits, and many others are tv shows based on law suits, and trials, and since people watch them so frequently they believe that they know everything there is to know about the law system. That is where they are wrong, unless you went to law school and studied and became an actual lawyer you shouldn't be able to tell someone whether they are right or wrong because you watched a couple tv shows and now you're the expert. That is not how that works, and I think that is how TV shows and media has not helped our justice system
Another example of this was during the Garrett Phillips case as well as When They See Us, where the public was so heavily invested in the cases. The prosecutors in When They See Us admitted that it was political and the verdict was more than just innocence or guilt. For Garret Phillips, Nick Hillary was used as a way to gain votes for the district attorney because she promised that she would find Phillip's killer, who she believed was Nick, in order to keep the public safe.
ReplyDeleteThis has become a very controversial issue since media has become more and more widespread. In addition to OJ, other cases such as Lionel Tate made use of the media to try and alter the story and change public opinion. It became publicly known that Lionel Tate's lawyer had tried to defend him by saying he was watching pro wrestling and tried to imitate the moves. This was an attempt to use the media to direct the attention off of Lionel Tate and onto the wrestling organizations and broadcasters.
ReplyDeleteI agree that people have turned the court system into something unintended, entertainment, and it's changing the way they view the courts. People don't seem to view the courts with the same seriousness they used to and they feel they know what they are entitled to, which is ever evident in the increasing numbers of frivolous law suits.
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