Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 1963)
12 C THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1863 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDKORD. OREGON Hews Coverage of Court Proceedings Discussed at Meeting of Media By JOE COWLEY Mail Tribune Staff Writer The fundamental difference between the courts, the legal profession, the law and com munications media is that the former represents the rights of the individual and the latter the rights of the public, Lane Coun ty Circuit Judge William Fort said Saturday in Eugene. Fort was speaking to over 50 representatives of 0 r e g o n's press, radio and television dur ing the first annual two-day ses sion on news coverage of the courts, A majority of newsmen present voted to hold the pro gram again next year. It was presented by the Oregon Slate Bar Association, Oregon News paper Publishers' Association and the University of 0 r e g o n Division of Continuing Educa tion. . ' Friday, Orlando J. Hollis, dean of the University of Oregon Law School, urged newsmen to consider their court coverage "a joint venture in the administra tion of justice." Three Things Necessary To carry out this joint venture three things are necessary accuracy, understanding and restraint. The extent to which newspapermen achieve the goal of accuracy is a measure of the personal pleasure they get from their work, Dean Hollis said. He and other speakers stressed that accuracy is the best de- fense against libel. Understanding is the bridge between the news and legal pro fessions, he said. Self - restraint must be exer- cised by newsmen so the course of a trial and of justice will not be influenced by a news story. Jurors should not read or listen to news accounts of a trial, ac cording to a judge's instruc tions, but some do, he pointed out. What the news story says may influence a jurors vote, the dean pointed out further. Misunderstanding Noted Lane County District Attorney William F. Frye said misunder standing between news media and attorneys is often due to the sensitivity of the lawyers. Reporters probably receive few criticisms on their coverage of the courts from the general pub lic, he added. "I will have to admit that I'm surprised at the really profes sional job done by the reporter in covering trials," the district attorney said. Robert C. Notson, managing editor, Portland Oregonian, se verely criticized Senate Bill 1802 sponsored by Sen. Wayne Morse, D-Ore., which would ban the release of any information on a legal case which is not on file with the court. Minimum fine for violation of this law would be $500. This bill is aimed "Mobilfieat" The Oil fo Burn America's largest Selling Heating Oil Worth Mora Safer-Cleaner Cheaper. Wa Sell and Tike Trade-ins AUTOMATIC OIL FLOOR FURNACES QUAKER OIL STOVES MEDFORD FUEL CO. Court :nd McAndreiw Phone 772-2111 at preventing ' trial by paper," he explained. Notson agreed that such pre trial information as confes sions should not be published and that an emotional style of reporting a case may inflame the public. Fair, Prompt Accounts "The real control of law en forcement still rests In the pub lication of fair and prompt ac counts," he said. "Fair trial for whom?" he queried. "We have become so pre-occupied with individual rights that the rights of society are losing. Ninety per cent of. the laws and court rulings are now in favor of the defendant. Thirty - four murderers have been freed because of this trend. The only way notorious gang sters and killers are convicted now seems to be through income tax evasion." The Oregonian editor noted the prosecutor was once an out standing man of society. Few attorneys want to be prosecu tors today because they know the "cards are stacked against them. Perry Mason (fictitious defense attorney created by au thor Earle Stanley Gardner) is the hero today, he said. End in Guilty Picas Notson pointed out that most of Oregon s recent criminal cases have ended with pleas of guilty or through understand ings reached between the prose cution and defense. Only 20 per cent go to trial, he said. If Sen. Morse's bill is passed the public would not learn of the disposi tion of such cases since pre-trial publicity would be forbidden. James Burns, Portland attor ney, said the ordeal by publicity has been compared to the or deal by fire. But he agreed with the Oregonian editor that Morse's bill would create more difficulties than it would solve. If the American Bar Associ ation's Canon 20 were strictly enforced there would be many changes without need for the senator's bill, Burns said. This forbids attorneys to discuss a trial pending or under way with the news media, Burns said, but this may be going to extremes, also. Good Taste Followed Richard Ross, news director, KGW-TV, Portland, said good taste should be followed in use of pre-trial and trial publicity. The demands of objectivity should be balanced with the de mands of fair play, he said. Radio and television have "a news- little heavier responsibility" for fair and accurate court cover age because "the ear is wired to the heart and the eye to the mind," Ross said. A Roper re search study showed 39 per cent got their news from the newspaper. A newscast is a fleeting thing so must be right the first time, he said further. Change of venue (shifting the trial to another locality) is no longer an "escape hatch," Ross said. News reaches to the far thest corners. Protection of an individual's right to privacy is up to the news editor in the last analysis, according to Alfred T. Goodwin, associate justice, Oregon Su preme Court, Salem. One test of whether a news picture or story is an invasion of the right of privacy is the mores (cus toms) of the community. "Privacy does not exist in the disemination of news or when the public has a rightful inter est," Judge Goodwin said. "Var ious cases have defined news at "that which attracts public attention or a report of recent occurrences." Judge f ort said there are only a few cases in which juve nile names should be used in connection with a crime. The basic history of the penal move ment has been "to hurt, to hold and to help." To help, or re habilitation of the juvenile, is the reason a juvenile's name generally should not be publi cized, Judge Fort indicated. Would Favor Change . The juvenile court judge said he would lavor a change m Ore gon law to give a juvenile a public hearing if he wants one. Sam Frear, former court re- King Saud Favors Non-intervention AMMAN, Jordan (UPI)-King Saud, marking his 10th anniver sary as ruler of Saudi Arabia, said Tuesday his country favors a policy of non-intervention in the attairs ot other Arab states. Saud also declared that Saudi Arabia is opposed to bloodshed in the dispute over Yemen, the tiny nation on the tip of the Arabian land mass. porter, Eugene Register-Guard, gave a history of a juvenile case in another locality and how it was covered by the newspaper. Two 13-year-old boys had as saulted women in broad day light downtown. They had been made drunk by a school's dean Workers Escape Dynamite Blast LEBANON, Tenn. (UPI) Two construction workers, smelling smoke, Tuesday jumped from a truck laden with dynamite and ran to safety before the vehicle was "blown to smithereens." The blast also broke about 200 windows, including those in the courthouse and the Lebanon Airport. The workers, Lloyd C. Scott and James Newby, were not hurt by the explosion, which oc curred at an interstate highway construction site near here. But officers said the men were so -unnerved they were unable to speak coherently for more than an hour. A GIRAFFE DEMONSTRATION - Max, a male giraffe at San Francisco's Fleishhacker zoo, shows off his tongue and swelled head as he demonstrates for the photographer. In the background are two more giraffes who appear to be discussing the situation. The photo was made with a very wide angle 28mm lens on a 35mm camera to deliberately distort the perspective. (UPI) of boys for homo-sexual pur poses. Although the general public knew about the case, the news paper decided not to print the storv since it had not printed a story of another rape case in volving juveniles, only news story on the case was a small item in the social columns an nouncing the dean of boys had returned to California "for rea sons of ill health." Instead of prosecuting the teacher or seeing to it he re ceived treatment for his men tal illness the community sent him to another locality. Names Should Be Used Most of the newsmen present thought that juvenile names should be used in connection with a felony or when the juve nile had committed more than one criminal offense. A poll of the audience showed that many newspapermen at tend juvenile court hearings as encouraged by Judge Fort. Ra dio and television men said they usually didn't have time. Accurate publication of a news story backed by truth which can be defended in court is the best defense against libel, John J. Higglns, Portland at torney, said. He noted his firm had served as legal counsel to the Oregonian when the Team sters' Union expose series was being published. Verdicts Awarded Four of the five highest ver dicts awarded in Oregon in volved no physical harm to the plaintiff (the person bringing suit) but involved libel, injury to character or reputation. Truth or privilege is not a complete defense in court, Hig gins emphasized. Privilege to publish anything said applies to sessions of Congress and the state legislature, but this right becomes weaker the further down the line it goes. A reporter and newspaper might be in trouble in court even if an accurate quote is made of a defamatory state ment made during a city coun cil meeting; for instance. A story would acrry the s2 a m e punch even If an exact quote were not printed. LOG ENDS Quick Delivery MEDFORD FUEL CO. S&H Green Stamps PHONE 772-2111 r..nr,i din, as awarded I Droof of specific loss in a libel by a court need not be tied to action, the attorney added. 14 NORTH CENTRAL PHONE 773-7484 .( If H 11 J 11 J gig uiLJl U tmj ;; .;";;"' ;f ff&t rOvf.'Si uy 4 " V;4 I Of Our Three New Strechbras By Warner's Strechstraps, and What Comfort! COTTON cup, lace topped, Lycra spandex, elastic back and stretchslraps'' . . . stay put straps ride the shoulders for amazing comfort . . . 3.95 CONTOUR cotton cup, lightly foam shaped . . . Slretchbra'' comfort with extra uplift and figure flattery . . . LYCRAS' spandex with beautiful nylon cups . stretch, maximum comfort, elegant low back . foundations - 2nd floor 5.00 5.95 SWtbjiSWet, MOVES SMOOTHLY THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS IN N0-IR0N JERSEY . . . The skirt's cut narrow for a slimming effect; gently pleated in front, plain-paneled in back, with two handy side pockets. It washes by hand or machine, drips dry, needs no ironing. Wear it as often as you like . . . il never shows a trace of a wrinkle. blue, brown, green, red SIZES 10-20,. 1212 to 242 12.95 Phone 773-7484 l
