Experts on the media warn of different justice system for celebrities

[question everything]

By Linda Deutsch
ASSOCIATED PRESS

July 24, 2004

LOS ANGELES – The extraordinary secrecy imposed by judges in the cases of Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Martha Stewart has spurred some media experts and scholars to warn that America is developing a two-tiered justice system – one for celebrities and one for everyone else.

"The idea that you have justice and then you have celebrity justice is really offensive," said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. "Does the public understand what preferential treatment these people are receiving from the system?

"If they decide celebrities are entitled to a different kind of justice, we have lost press oversight of the system. Without that, we will never know if the rich and famous are getting the same justice as the rest of us."

In Jackson's child molestation case in California, the judge has sealed most documents and has imposed a sweeping gag order. In the Bryant rape case in Colorado, a gag order also restricts comment by the two sides, and many hearings on the accuser's sex life are held in secret. In New York, Stewart's judge closed jury selection to the media and the public.

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Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040724/news_1n24celebs.html

[Devils Advocate NZ]

1. Is it really two-tiered...

Or is it thatrthe media frenzy surrounding celebrity trials results in ruling otherwise unnecessary?

In other words, if Joe Blow's trial generated as much media interest as Michael Jackson's, would the judge grant the same suppression orders in order to ensure a fair trial?

It seems that way to me, but I could be wrong.