Location

University of Richmond School of Law

Start Date

13-4-2000 12:00 AM

Description

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's 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.

Comments

Trying Cases in the Media: The Underlying Facts

Mary Jones is the former Chief of Staff to the late Congressman Alan Ruston, of the fourteenth congressional district of Freedonia. She stands accused of murdering Congressman Ruston, in a high-profile case filled with swirling accusations of sexual harassment, rape, and corruption. No one disputes one essential fact. Mary Jones shot and killed Alan Ruston in the parking lot of the federal building in downtown Freedonia City. The federal prosecution is being brought by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Freedonia, John Douglass, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1114, making it a federal crime to murder any officer or employee of the United States during the performance of that officer's duties or on account of the performance of those duties. Attorney Gerald Zerkin, an experienced and highly regarded Freedonia criminal defense lawyer, has been retained by Jones to defend her in the prosecution. Steve Nash is an enterprising and hard-hitting investigative journalist who both writes a nationally syndicated newspaper column and who appears regularly as a broadcast journalist on national news magazine program. Judge Margaret P. Spencer is the federal judge to whom the matter has been assigned. Craig Thomas Merritt is a media attorney who will represent Mr. Nash. J. Joshua Wheeler is a First Amendment attorney who will represent Gerald Zerkin.

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Apr 13th, 12:00 AM

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

University of Richmond School of Law

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's 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.