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Monday, December 12, 1988 / University Daily Kansan
The closing of a hearing
The Law In Brief
By Jay A. Cohen Kansan staff writer
Students in U.S. government classes who have trouble staying awake during dry discussions of abstract constitutional issues may find them more interesting now that one has come to life in Lawrence.
On Wednesday, Judge James Paddock of the Douglas County District Court rulied in favor of a defense motion and closed a pre-trial hearing despite objections from lawyers representing local news organizations.
Although the hearing was closed to the public, Paddock said reporters could remain if they agreed to conditions limiting what information they could print.
In making his decision, Paddock said he was attempting to balance both the defendant's Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial and the press' First Amendment rights to gather news.
The conflict between the constitutional rights of a defendant and the rights of the press can be complex, as described by Harvey Zuckman and Martin Gaynes, in their book Law, in their book Media Communications Law.
The Sixth Amendment, for example, guarantees that a criminal defendant receive a speedy and public trial and that the trial be before an impartial jury.
--for due process of law may be violated.
News stories, particularly those that contain information that may not be presented to a jury, may make finding twelve impartial jurors difficult. Zuckman and Gaynes said.
The editorial content of news coverage may put pressure on the trial judge and the physical presence of reporters may disrupt the courtroom itself. In either or both situations the fifth amendment's requirement
However, if a judge seeks to ensure impartiality and due process by closing a hearing, or taking measures which may directly or indirectly restrict reporters' ability to gather or publish news, his order may come into conflict with the First Amendment. The court will rule that, "unless it makes no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press," includes court orders, Zuckman and Gaynes said.
Closing the hearing might also violate the Sixth Amendment "public trial" provision.
Lawrence Journal-World attorney Gerald Cooley argued against closing the hearing, citing a 1981 Kansas Supreme Court ruling that a judge may close a pre-trial hearing only if two conditions were met.
First, that publishing information from the hearing would create a "clear and present danger" to the fairness of the trial, and secondly, that the prejudicial information could not be avoided by alternative means.
According to Zuckman and Gaynes alternative means include: a change of venue, which is moving the trial to another county where there may have been less publicity; a continuance, a delay to allow publicity to subside, but which may conflict with Sixth Amendment "speedy trial" requirements; and extensive use of "voir dire," examinations of potential jurors to determine if they had been affected by news stories.
Once jurors have been selected they can be admonished not to read or consider news reports when making their decision, or they can be sequestered, held in isolation until the trial is over.
Schools require parents' help
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The nation's public school teachers say they are not getting enough support from parents, and most report problems such as child abuse, poor health and bad nutrition among the children in their classrooms, according to a survey released yesterday.
The report, "The Condition of Teaching," contained data from about 22,000 teachers representing every state. The average teacher had 16 years' experience.
90 percent said lack of parental support was a problem at their schools.
89 percent said there were abused or neglected children at their schools.
69 percent said poor health was a problem for their students .
for better schools they cannot do the job alone, and yet there is a growing trend to expect schools to do what families, communities and churches have been unable to accomplish," said Ernest L. Boyer, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of teaching.
Mary Hatwood Futrell, president of the National Education Association, said the report demonstrated the need to improve employment equity.
68 percent said some children were undernourished
"Teachers repeatedly made the point that in the push
"Parents are a child first — and potentially the most influential — teachers," she said.
The average teacher faced 79 students on a typical day, with elementary teachers working with 60 different pupils and secondary teachers 114. The typical class size was 23.
The average public school teacher earned $28,031 in
987.88, according to figures from the NEA.
only 7 percent of the teachers surveyed said they planned to quit the profession as soon as they could.
KU student not picked for Rhodes Scholarship
By a Kansan reporter
Thirty-two college students were selected to receive the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship on Saturday in Minneapolis. Minn.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
A Kansas resident, John Crandon, a Stanford
University senior from Parsons, did receive a scholarship. Steven St. Peter, Wichita senior, was not selected to receive the scholarship.
St. Peter and Crandon competed against 10 other students from five other states for the scholarships.
Orthodox Christians
on Campus would like to wish everyone a joyous Christmas. Look for upcoming meetings next semester in the Kansan.
Have A Blessed Holiday Season.
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