Abstract
Live blogging from legal trials has become one of the most accessible ways in which the public can gain direct insight into legal proceedings, particularly in countries where television cameras are denied entry into the courtroom. Whilst live blogging constitutes an important way of ensuring the transparency and openness of legal processes and documents – a principle known as open justice and a key component of many democratic societies – the risks stemming from opening up the courts not only to more immediate and detailed scrutiny, but also to a larger, virtual audience are lesser known. A deeper understanding of how a legal trial’s transformation into a live event due to live blogs has impacted on the legal sphere is therefore needed. The aims of this article are thus twofold: to show how live blogs are changing legal professionals’ work practices and to discuss what it is about live blogs that leads to these changes in professional practices. The analysis draws on qualitative interviews with legal professionals in Sweden and Denmark and finds that live blogs increase reflection in professional performances stemming from an awareness of performing to a virtual audience. Surveillance thus leads to performance adjustment. Live blogs also lead to changes in professionals practices and transform the audience/participant boundary into a fluid one most notably regarding the Danish respondents in comparison to those in Sweden. The article also suggests a hierarchy of liveness with live blogs considered to be less intrusive than televised trials.
Highlights
Live blogging from legal trials has become one of the most accessible ways in which the public can gain direct insight into legal proceedings, in countries where television cameras are denied entry into the courtroom
Whilst live blogging constitutes an important way of ensuring the transparency and openness of legal processes and documents – a principle known as open justice and a key component of many democratic societies – the risks stemming from opening up the courts to more immediate and detailed scrutiny, and to a larger, virtual audience are lesser known
We saw at the start of the previous section that the legal professionals interviewed talk about live blogging as not impacting on what they do in the courtroom, our analysis shows that they simultaneously talk about an awareness of being watched which leads them to be more cognizant of their performances
Summary
Live blogging from legal trials has become one of the most accessible ways in which the public can gain direct insight into legal proceedings, in countries where television cameras are denied entry into the courtroom. A deeper understanding of how a legal trial’s transformation into a live event due to live blogs has impacted on the legal sphere is needed. There is currently a research gap regarding how live blogs impact on legal professionals and their work along with how they use them. This is concerning as live blogs are an increasingly popular and widespread component of many contemporary trials a more complete understanding of the consequences and implications of this novel digital practice is vital, not least as the findings of this study indicate that live blogs change legal professionals’ work in important ways. A comprehension of which characteristics of live blogs are central in driving these new patterns is vital in order to understand the criminal trial as a live event and how live blogs change professional practices
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