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#CSI Effect: How Media Impacts the Criminal Legal System

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Crime, Media and Culture ((PSCMC))

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Abstract

Media has a wide-reaching impact on the criminal legal system and isolating the effects would be impossible. Drawing from a select body of research, this chapter highlights some of the effects of media on the criminal legal system. The chapter examines the impact of media, and especially new media, on law enforcement, juries and trial outcomes, lawyers and judges, and corrections. Whether it is through individuals recording and posting videos of law-breaking behavior on social media or live tweeting trial proceedings, social media’s accessibility and interactive nature has the potential to significantly impact the functioning of the criminal legal system. Each section of the chapter draws from research examining how media shapes perceptions of the criminal legal system and exploring how media changes the functioning of the criminal legal system.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We used the Wikipedia for this citation because Nielsen does not compile data in this manner.

  2. 2.

    This was followed up by Irvin v. Dowd (1961), Rideau v. Louisiana (1963), Estes v. Texas (1965), and Sheppard v. Maxwell (1966). Later case precedent indicated a hesitancy for case reversal in Murphy v. Florida (1975) and Patton v. Yount (1984) (with the exception of Mu’Min v. Virginia (1991), where the case was reversed).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, USA

    Rebecca M. Hayes

  2. Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA, USA

    Kate Luther

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  1. Rebecca M. Hayes
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Hayes, R.M., Luther, K. (2018). #CSI Effect: How Media Impacts the Criminal Legal System. In: #Crime. Palgrave Studies in Crime, Media and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89444-7_2

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