Dealing with pretrial publicity

Dealing with pretrial publicity

Media attention may create a mood that is not likely to be of assistance to the client. Where each step in the prosecution is reported extensively, a judge may fear that a lenient sentence will be followed by considerable adverse publicity.

Where the reporting has been so sensationalized that it is no longer accurate, the problem may be compounded in that the attorney sees a need to change and correct the misstatements in the record without contributing to the further publicizing of the case. In appropriate cases, motions for protective orders or to change venue may be made.FN57

However, not all publicity is harmful to the client. Where the victim of a computer crime is a large corporation and the method of perpetrating the crime highly technical, newspapers are likely to paint the defendant in a favorable light. Terms such as "Computer Genius" and "Computer Whiz" may create an atmosphere of general sympathy for the client, and even a judicial disinclination to punish a man or woman believed to be of superior intelligence.

Where this sort of publicity appears to be beneficial to the client, counsel should be ready to accompany the client to all "for the record" appearances concerning the alleged crime. Counsel needs to be certain that the client will not seriously compromise his or her defense with any inappropriate statements.