Trying Cases in the Media: Legal Ethics, Fair Trials and Free Press

The 2000 symposium consisted of a panel discussion which used role-playing and a mock trial to highlight the issues of lawyer/litigant comments to the press before and during trial and the dilemma of journalists confronted by court demands for documents, testimony, or sources of information obtained in the course of gathering news on pending trials. Participants included: As United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Freedonia: John Douglas, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Richmond. As Freedonia criminal defense lawyer: Gerald Zerkin, Private Defense Attorney. As investigative journalist: Steve Nash, Associate Professor of Journalism at the University of Richmond. As federal judge: Judge Margaret P. Spencer, Virginia Circuit Court Judge. As media attorney: Craig Thomas Merritt, Attorney. As first amendment attorney: J. Joshua Wheeler, Attorney and Director of Programs for the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, and adjunct professor at University of Virginia. As Chief Justice: Paul D. Carrington, The Chadwick Professor of Law at Duke University. As Associate Justices of the United States Supreme Court: C. Thomas Dienes, Patricia Roberts Harris Professor of Law at George Washington University\u27s Law School; John E. Nowak, David C. Baum Professor of Law at the University of Illinois; Molly Delea, third-year law student, University of Richmond School of Law; Kate Murray, third-year law student, University of Richmond School of Law; Thomas Queen, third-year law student, University of Richmond School of Law; and Courtney Sydnor, third-year law student, University of Richmond School of Law