Deck 7: Media and the Justice System

Question 1

The Supreme Court decision in Branzburg v.Hayes has led to

A)an absolute First Amendment right for journalists to refuse to testify in court.
B)a qualified right for journalists to withhold information from the courts.
C)a standard rule that journalists must testify in court to the same extent as anyone else.
D)a federal rule that journalists can never be required to reveal their sources or unpublished notes.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

By virtue of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,the Sixth Amendment's protections for criminal defendants apply to state prosecutions as well as federal ones.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

One Supreme Court opinion in particular seemed to command judges to take virtually any steps necessary to assure that cases are tried in the courtroom and not in the media.That was the

A)Sheppard opinion
B)Rideau opinion
C)Irvin opinion
D)Nebraska Press opinion

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Courts have held that the impartial-jury guarantee in the Constitution refers to a jury that

A)is "fair" and has no prior knowledge of the case whatsoever.
B)is in an open,unprejudiced frame of mind as evidence is presented.
C)has never before heard of the defendant.
D)All of the above

Question 5

Courtroom access rights were first established in what landmark case?

A)Globe Newspaper Co.v.Superior Court
B)Press-Enterprise Co.v.Superior Court
C)Richmond Newspapers,Inc.v.Virginia
D)Seattle Times Co.v.Rhinehart

Question 6

Shield laws protecting journalists have been adopted in

A)six states and the federal jurisdiction.
B)about half of the states.
C)all states except Utah and Rhode Island.
D)California and New York only.

Question 7

Under current law,media cameras are generally permitted in

A)the U.S.Supreme Court.
B)all lower federal courts.
C)the majority of state courts,both trial and appellate.
D)All of the above

Question 8

The U.S.Supreme Court has not directly decided whether there is a First Amendment right of access to civil trials.

Question 9

Which of the following are most appropriate for combating the effects of publicity concurrent with trial,rather than pretrial publicity?

A)admonishment and sequestration
B)voir dire and sequestration
C)continuance and admonishment
D)continuance and voir dire

Question 10

What observation did Chief Justice Warren Burger make in his 1976 majority opinion in Nebraska Press Association v.Stuart?

A)The First Amendment takes priority over the Sixth.
B)The Sixth Amendment is a specialized protection that takes priority over the First.
C)No priority is assigned as between the First and Sixth amendments.
D)There is no potential for conflict between the First and Sixth amendments.

Question 11

In many jurisdictions,court proceedings against juveniles are routinely closed to the public.

Question 12

Jury admonitions may be used to

A)question potential jurors to determine whether they have been prejudiced by news coverage.
B)delay a trial until prejudicial publicity has died down.
C)instruct jurors not to read or listen to media accounts of a case.
D)confine jurors to a monitored place for the duration of the trial,so they will not be exposed to media publicity.

Question 13

Under the typical shield law,journalists may seek protection when they receive a

A)summons.
B)subpoena.
C)search warrant.
D)Any of the above

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT one of the elements to the four-prong test that evolved from Press-Enterprise I ?

A)The closure of a criminal trial must be no broader than necessary to protect an overriding interest.
B)There must be no reasonable alternatives to closure that would protect against the danger.
C)A substantial probability must exist that overriding interests would be damaged by conducting the proceeding in public.
D)Alternative avenues of media coverage must be assured by the court.

Question 15

In Chandler v.Florida the Supreme Court made it clear that allowing cameras in the courtroom is

A)constitutionally required.
B)constitutionally permissible.
C)an automatic violation of defendants' Sixth Amendment rights.
D)inherently unfair and prejudicial to all parties.

Question 16

In Zurcher v.Stanford Daily,the Supreme Court held that

A)the First Amendment does not protect news media from police searches.
B)student-newspaper reporters are not protected by shield laws.
C)campus newspapers may be sued for breaching promises to confidential sources.
D)grand juries may force journalists to reveal their sources and testify at trial.

Question 17

Some kinds of court records are typically kept secret and are not subject to a presumption of openness.Which of the following falls into that category?

A)Transcripts of grand jury proceedings
B)Videotapes submitted as evidence
C)Pleadings and motions
D)Court orders

Question 18

Gag orders aimed at media coverage of legal proceedings can be constitutionally valid only in extremely rare circumstances,when the trial judge specifically finds that

A)a gag order on the media would indeed operate to prevent the danger of prejudicial influence.
B)pretrial publicity about the case would be intense and pervasive.
C)no alternative measures would work to offset the effects of the publicity.
D)All of the above

Question 19

Gag orders on trial participants,such as lawyers,are considered a form of prior restraint on the media.

Question 20

Under state law,a presumption of openness generally applies to all phases of civil lawsuits,including the discovery phase.

Question 21

The federal Privacy Protection Act of 1980 generally prohibits newsroom searches by police.

Question 22

Colorado's Supreme Court upheld a gag order in People v.Bryant.How did the court distinguish the Bryant case from the principle of Florida Star v.BJF?

Question 23

When a judge issues a contempt citation for the purpose of coercing a journalist to reveal information,this is sometimes called

A)administrative contempt.
B)criminal contempt.
C)civil contempt.

Question 24

In Cohen v.Cowles Media the Supreme Court in 1991 held that a news source who had expected anonymity

A)could sue the media under principles of contract law.
B)could sue the media for the tort of disclosure of private facts.
C)could not sue because no agreement was in writing.
D)could not sue because the expectation of anonymity was unreasonable.

Question 25

When cameras are allowed in courtrooms,it is typically with strings attached.What are some of the common restrictions?

Question 26

In most jurisdictions,violation of a court order can result in a contempt citation even if the underlying court order is ruled constitutionally invalid.This general principle is often called the

A)Farber rule.
B)Bridges rule.
C)Dickinson rule.
D)Georgia rule.