Weblog Part 2

Chapter 4: The Law of Desire

In this chapter Sherwin looks at cases that Romanticized criminal acts, making the accused into a relatable character rather than a common criminal. One such case was the case of John Brown. This was one of the first mass mediated "notorious trials" in American history. Brown used this to turn his trial into what "was meant to be a tale of spiritual courage and moral fortitude that would awaken the country from its complacency about slavery." (78) He succeeded in romanticizing his trial and gaining praise from many across the country despite the fact that some of his crimes were rather heinous ("the Pottawatomi massacre") Sherwin points out that the nation was so enthralled by this great romantic story of courage and bravery that John Brown the man was all but forgotten. This is becoming more and more common, he points out at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 5: The Postmodern Challenge

Sherwin points out that people like their stories neat, with recognizable characters and familiar motives. He says that this is a problem because neat stories tend to leave things out. He then goes on to describe the case of Randall Adams and his accusation of the murder of officer Robert Wood. Randall Adams was found guilty in the original, and seemingly unfair, trial, but after serving twelve years in prison was finally released after a documentary entitled The Thin Blue Line was released showing linear and non-linear versions of the story, which lead viewers to want to believe the more linear version. Sherwin says at the end of the chapter, "we must accept greater responsibility for the legal realities we help establish when we tell or accept one legal story rather than another."(138-139)

Chapter 6: The Jurisprudence of Appearances

Sherwin gives us a "rule of thumb" at the beginning of this chapter: "Whatever the visual mass media touch bears the mark of reality/fiction confusion." (141) then he introduces another rule: "once you enter the realm of appearances it may be difficult to control how the image spins." (141) He supports these statements with Supreme Court cases, and talks about how television has changed law in the modern day, going so far as to say that a defendant cannot get a fair trial because the jurors will see all of the mass media "reality/fiction confusion" and become biased. Popular culture is now shaping law according to Sherwin.