Pre-trail publicity

• Pre-trial publicity is reports about the crime that took place that are published in the public domain on social media, newspapers or the radio before a case goes to trial. 

  • Steblay et al. (1999) found a significant effect of pre-trial publicity on judgements about the defendant, suggesting that negative information about a defendant and crime can lead to an increased likelihood of a guilty verdict when juries make their decisions. 
• To test the effects of pre-trial publicity on jury-decision making psychological research has often utilized mock juries and replicated trials for the investigation process. 

  • In mock jury research there is no real impact from the decision so it may not reflect real life where jurors consider a range of issues when sentencing a defendant, so research may not reflect the actual impact of pre-trial publicity on decisions made in courts.
• High profile cases are often more newsworthy due to public interest and media values, so they are often reported more widely in the press and social media than every-day criminal cases. 

  • During a trial jurors are requested to disregard pre-trial publicity and are not allowed to research the case during the trial, therefore there may not be any effect of publicity on a decision, regardless of whether it is a high profile or low profile case.  
• The credibility of a defendant or victim may be reported in either a negative or positive way by the media in any pre-trial publicity.

  • Ruva and McEvoy (2008) found that the perception of a defendant’s credibility was higher when pre-trial publicity had been positive, so the impact could lead to jurors making both lenient or harsh decisions about the defendant’s guilt. 
• DEFINITION

  • Media/news reports about the defendant/crime/victim published before the trial.