Assessing pretrial publicity effects: integrating content analytic results.
When a case has received pretrial publicity which has the capacity to bias potential jurors in the trial venue, a change of venue is one means of attempting to ensure that the defendant receives a fair trial. Content analysis of the pretrial publicity surrounding a case can provide the court with important information to consider when determining whether prejudice in the relevant community is too great for the defendant to receive a fair trial. This paper presents an approach to content analysis of pretrial publicity that draws upon both legal commentary and past empirical social science research. It is a systematic approach that could be employed by both the prosecution and defense when presenting arguments to the court about whether a change of venue should be granted. Information gleaned from content analysis of the publicity surrounding a specific case fills the gap between information provided by experimental research which has examined pretrial publicity effects and public opinion polls concerning the public's perception of the defendant in a particular case. Results from a content analysis can serve to validate public opinion survey data gathered from the same locales. To exemplify this content analytic approach, a content analysis conducted by the authors in preparation for the change of venue hearing in the case of Timothy McVeigh is presented.
Studebaker
C A
CA
Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA.
Robbennolt
J K
JK
Pathak-Sharma
M K
MK
Penrod
S D
SD
D015706:Bibliometrics; D002961:Civil Rights; D003416:Criminal Law / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D009524:Newspapers as Topic; D009825:Oklahoma; D011639:Public Opinion; D014481:United States; D014754:Violence