IS Mr PISTORIUS GETTING A FAIR TRIAL ?

The fundamental objective of a legal system is to seek Justice and that Justice must be seen to be done ! 

Simply said, court hearings of evidence in trials and the legal pleading must not be conducted behind locked doors and citizens must have the right to attend hearings without paying any entry fee.  Furthermore, a normal and acceptable legal system will always have procedures to permit exceptions if they are justified !

However, there is a huge difference between the right of citizens to attend a trial and be informed and the worldwide diffusion of a trial !

For example, the current trial of Mr Pistorius who is accused of murdering his girlfriend in South Africa, is widely covered in great detail daily and relayed worldwide on television ; does this guarantee a fair trial ?

From day one, everything said in the courtroom has been reported.  Comments have appeared in every newspaper imaginable, in dozens of languages.  It has become a TV soap opera !

 

How can any lawyer or the defendent in the case have the necessary peace of mind required when asking or replying to questions ?

 

How can the Chief Justice of South Africa, or the Trial Judge, permit and justify such a "circus" to televise everything in court ?

 

How much and to whom are TV Companies paying for the right to televise this trial ?  Is Mr Pistorius (and other Court Actors) paid a fee for his performance ?

 

This case could become a dangerous precedent for what might happen in the future if strict guidelines are not adopted quickly on an international basis. 

How many books will be published on this gruesome trial ?  How many other trials like this one will be televised in future ?  Will films also be made ?

 

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