Most trials take place many months after the offending publications, the argument goes, and jurors don’t remember what they’ve read a long time ago when faced with real witnesses giving live evidence. But does the fade factor really work that way? Studies in other countries have suggested that juries aren’t much affected by pre-trial publicity about an accused, but many psychologists and lawyers disagree. What has been strangely absent from the argument is the effect of the internet. A juror can Google the accused’s name and read all the prejudicial publicity accompanying his arrest. Any research on the fade factor which doesn’t take this into account is likely to prove useless.http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2089417,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/story/0,,2089415,00.html
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