Is a Fair Trial Possible in the Age of Mass Media?
| The Dreyfus Affair and the Press Sex, Crime, and Jazz-Age Journalism Is a Fair Trial Possible in the Age of Mass Media? In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed . . . . —Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Television stations broadcast again and again the videotape showing Rodney King being beaten by police officers. Tabloid magazines pay witnesses to publish their stories before they testify in the O.J. Simpson trial. Newspapers, magazines, “instant books,” television, radio, and online computer services spread details about countless other crime stories—often before any trial takes place. Does this media saturation make it impossible to find impartial jurors? Is a fair trial possible in the age of mass media? When juries were first introduced in England about 800 years ago, most of the population lived in small villages. When people se
