MEDIA SPACE AND JURY TRIALS IN THE MODERN WORLD: RISKS AND WAYS OF NEUTRALIZATION

Abstract

The article explores the forms of influence of the media space on the jury trial on the basis of foreign scientific sources. The author attributes to these types of influence: the formation of a specific behavioral model and jurors’ approach to the evaluation of evidence, obtaining information about a case not included in the trial process, providing a convenient resource for illegal communication between juries and parties or with other persons. The existence of such risks is minimized by the adoption of comprehensive measures that have been tested in a number of countries, such as legal norms, regulating media activities, introduction the responsibility for the publication materials that are detrimental to the fairness of the trial, and jurors’ responsibility for searching this information, as well as the resolution of these problems by improving guarantees, provided by the criminal procedure legislation. The latter methods include: streamlining the procedure of jury selection, improving the quality of instructions of the presiding judge, increasing the cognitive availability of the process, and creating optimal conditions for passing a fair verdict based on evidence (putting additional materials to the advisory room), and restricting access to the Internet.