The Role of Media in Constitutional Rights: A Case Study Examination

This case study examines the impact of media on constitutional rights, particularly focusing on the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of a fair trial. It analyzes several high-profile cases, including The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson, Bundy v. State, and Casey Marie Anthony v. State of Florida, to illustrate how media coverage can influence jury decisions and potentially compromise the impartiality of trials. The study discusses the challenges of balancing media freedom with the need to protect defendants' rights to a fair trial, highlighting the potential for media misrepresentation and the importance of judicial guidelines to manage media access in high-profile cases. The case study also references Branzburg v. Hayes to discuss the limitations on reporters' privileges and concludes by emphasizing the need for responsible media practices to ensure justice is served without undue influence or bias.

Running head: CONSTITUTION AND TRIAL
CONSTITUTION AND TRIAL
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CONSTITUTION AND TRIAL
Right to counsel in cases of a criminal defendant's of the United States of America is
guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In cases where the defendant is
unable to afford an attorney, it is the duty of the government to provide legal aid to the
defendant by arranging an attorney for the person. The aim of this study is to discuss the role
of media in safeguarding the constitutional right of an impartial trial.
The sixth amendment of the constitution guaranteed that a defendant has a
fundamental right of being represented by a counsel in a criminal trial. Under the
Constitution of USA, every accused is eligible for a trial by an impartial jury. Due to
extensive media coverage, selecting jury for high profile cases can be extremely hard as
Jurors might develop a biased opinion towards the media trial. This is wrong as the decision
of the jury can make or break a case. In the case of The People of the State of California v.
Orenthal James Simpson, the media influenced the decision of the jury and mind of the
people of America by continuously selling the testimony of witnesses in the media. This
finally resulted in the delay of the trial and the defendant was acquitted for not committing
the murder of his wife. In another case of, Bundy v. State, though the accused was subjected
to electrocution during the trial, the media covered this serial killer’s entire life and murder
stories like a movie and publicized stories of his looks and female fan following. In another
case of Casey Marie Anthony v. State of Florida, the accused was tried for her daughter’s
murder. The media highlighted the case and the emotions of a mother in such a way that in
spite of the existence of an ample number of circumstantial evidence, the accused was
acquitted from the charge of murder and held guilty for misdemeanour acts.
In this scenario, it is important for the Judges and the Jury to possess an impartial
view and decided a case by the pieces of evidence that are available and not on those

2CONSTITUTION AND TRIAL
presented in the separate trial of media. The court, whenever try to oppose the media
involvement in any case, declared as a hindrance to the rights of media and fundamental
rights of speech and fair trial guaranteed by the Constitution. The media often misuse its
power by misrepresenting an incident in a different way than its actuality. Therefore, a
decisive guideline must be there for the access of media especially in high profile cases, so
that the purpose of justice does not get interrupted by the media attention. Improper
representation of constitutional rights can also be a factor to influence the delay of an
impartial trial. In the case of Branzburg v. Hayes, the Jury invalidated the first amendment
regarding a reporter’s privilege of not to testify before the grand jury and held that their
testimony should be treated in a similar way that of a normal citizen in the court of law.
It can be concluded from the above discussion that, media is a powerful medium that
can help in disclosing the truth in any case. Therefore, it is the duty of media that it should
not use their powers in such a way that can cause a person the right to get justice.

3CONSTITUTION AND TRIAL
Reference:
Branzburg v. Hayes 408 US 665 (1972)
Bundy v. State, 497 So.2d 1209, Fla. Supreme Court (1986)
Casey Marie Anthony v. State of Florida. 2011. 5D11-2357
The People of the State of California vs. Orenthal James Simpson (1995)