Weblog Part 2

Chapter 4

I think that the most important point that Sherwin makes in this chapter is that the biggest trials at a given point in society, those that receive the most attention, are examples of or influenced by what is occurring in society at the time. In most of the cases that Sherwin describes as examples of this, there is a clear “hero” or martyr for each cause even though he may not be a true hero or martyr. John Brown, for example, died fighting for a cause that he believed in. He didn’t die to prove a point about himself but instead to inspire others to change how society viewed slavery and the mistreatment of slaves. This shows how at this point in time, society was beginning to question the way they had been living. It made Brown a martyr, a symbol of a change in society, and an idol for the people in society.

Chapter 5

This chapter focused mainly on the fact that how a story is told in court affects how a jury decides. Sherwin says that people like clear and simple stories, without confusion or grey areas. Unfortunately with the law, this is hardly ever the case. In the story told by Sherwin, Randall Adams was tried by a jury, found to be guilty and was placed on death row for execution. Twelve years later, after the release of a movie which documented his case, Adams was retried and found to be innocent. The documentary was able to overturn the case because it told the story two ways: one very clear (“linear’) approach and another more confusing approach. The audience didn’t like the confusing approach at all and was therefore forced to agree with and align themselves with the clear approach, which pointed to Adams’ innocence. Sherwin’s point in this story was that, depending on how a story is told, the trial could have two very different outcomes, which doesn’t necessarily mean that justice is prevailing in the legal system.

Chapter 6:

Sherwin’s main point in this chapter is that the combination of media in law and law in media tampers with the effectiveness of the legal system and is only to give the façade that justice is always served. He mentions that how the legal system is portrayed in the media changes how society views the legal system. According to Sherwin, the public’s image of a “criminal” has changed based on the media portrayal of what is a criminal. This causes problems when a jury, made up of jurors who represent society, comes to a trial with a media-influenced mold of a typical criminal, thereby skewing their opinions and the trial. This mixing of media and law is causing the legal system to have more and more problems with biased and ineffective trials.