ABSTRACT
During the last decade, the English courts have been increasingly willing to recognise the prejudicial effect on jury verdicts of pre-trial publicity (PTP). A key concern, both for the courts and researchers, has been to establish criteria that identify when such effects are particularly difficult for the notional juror to "set aside" when considering trial evidence. The ideal analysis of PTP for a case would include all forms of publicity, but newspapers are a widely accepted single source. There are two broad approaches that have been used to study the impact of PTP on pre-trial opinion and trial judgements. The first draws on real life cases, or "field studies", in which respondents are asked about their use of different media sources. The second broad approach employs an experimental methodology using trial simulations which allows researchers to vary systematically the level and nature of exposure to publicity.
