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