Chapter
1: ABOUT JUDGES AND LAWYERS
A rough analogy
can be drawn between court proceedings and sports contests. Both are
public events; their venues and schedules known well in advance. In
each, one's performance is enhanced by a keen knowledge of the rules
(even those that get bent or broken). Each has winners and losers.
A reporter's success
in coverage will hinge, at least in part, on familiarity with the arena,
its rules and the participants.
In court, lawyers
are the key players; judges the umpires.
LAWYERS
Lawyers are licensed
by their state or by federal courts to represent others -- clients --
embroiled in legal disputes. They are "officers of the court," expected
to perform the delicate balance of offering zealous aid to one side
while safeguarding the administration of justice and integrity of the
process.
Part of their duty
is dealing with the news media, a task some attorneys warmly embrace
due to its lucrative potential (a news story, after all, is free advertising)
and ego gratification. On occasion, a client's best interest may require
maintaining a low profile. In such instances, lawyers may be moved to
impromptu advocacy if reminded that their "no comment" will result in
one-sided coverage that would not serve their clients well in the court
of public opinion.
Some rules of thumb
for interviewing lawyers:
-
It may help
to know as much as possible about a lawyer before seeking the interview.
One source is the Martindale-Hubbell listing of lawyers and law
firms. On the Internet, check www.martindale.com and its user-friendly
lawyer locator. It can provide a lawyer's age, areas of practice
and other relevant information.
-
Remember, they
are advocates. In discussing a client's case, they cannot be expected
to be impartial whether they are commenting on a new lawsuit or
reacting to a just-announced court decision.
-
They emphasize
favorable points and may forget to mention unfavorable aspects.
One way to minimize that is the interviewer's "walk-me-through-it"
request.
-
Ask them to
explain unfamiliar procedures or points of law. Do not make the
dangerous mistakes of assuming or guessing.
-
Some details
that are important to journalists often get ignored by lawyers.
Their written briefs usually do not include people's age or hometown,
specific locations of accidents, relevant information on what has
occurred since the incident at issue or since the lawsuit was filed.
Remember to ask.
JUDGES
The late Benjamin
Cardozo said it well: "In the long run, there is no guarantee of justice
except the personality of the judge."
American justice
comes through an adversary system. Judges, both trial and appellate,
are the neutral forces that give that system its direction.
While judges almost
always will decline to speak on the record to reporters about substantive
aspects of cases pending in their court, they and their staffs should
be considered resources for "structural" information, such as court
rules and proceeding schedules. Key questions judges and their support
staffs can answer: What just happened? What's it mean? What happens
next?
In North Carolina,
state judges answer to voters through elections against opponents. Such
accountability breeds greater news media accessibility. That political
reality aside, many judges see the virtue of helping assure that the
public receives accurate accounts of court proceedings. A trial or appellate
judge who has just issued a newsworthy ruling may be willing to answer
questions, or have a law clerk do so, for a confused reporter on deadline.
Ask.
Like most people,
judges feel more comfortable dealing on the telephone with people they
know; folks they've met face to face or, at the least, with whom they
have had some contact. Reporters who cover courts, even from a distance,
should seek to make themselves known to the judges they might some day
call on deadline. Sometimes, being known by the judge's secretary is
just as important.
Newsrooms should
have biographies on every state and federal judge in the state or coverage
area. Bar associations or an individual judge's chambers will provide
some bio information on request.
Federal judges,
endowed with life tenure, generally are not as responsive to news media
queries. Federal appellate judges may be the most hesitant about talking
to reporters, especially those with whom they are not familiar. Some
trial judges, however, like to think of themselves as soldiers in the
trenches and are rather fond of correspondents. Try.
Chapter
2: COVERING TRIALS - HIGH PROFILE AND OTHERWISE