Learning from Journalism

17 Pages Posted: 31 May 2006

Abstract

Academics in criminal justice frequently lament the state of crime journalism in United States today - and with good reason. Sensational, superficial and often misleading reporting of a few unrepresentative cases distorts the public's view of criminal justice in serious ways. But the opposite is also true: recent years have also seen some superb crime reporting, from which experts as well as the public can learn much. In this review I focus on Steve Bogira's Courtroom 302. The book provides an important reality check on criminal adjudication in a major American city today. It also represents a unique resource for the legal educator. Its exploration of individual and social character as revealed in the legal process in a single criminal courtroom may provide an important counterweight to law school's emphasis on rules and principles in criminal adjudication. The stories told here teach about the experience of law and the relationality of its practice in a way that traditional legal materials cannot.

Suggested Citation

Pillsbury, Samuel H., Learning from Journalism. Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2006, Loyola-LA Legal Studies Paper No. 2006-15, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=905560

Samuel H. Pillsbury (Contact Author)

Loyola Law School Los Angeles ( email )

919 Albany Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015-1211
United States
213-736-1093 (Phone)

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