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11 Mich. St. U. Det. C. L.J. Int'l L. 141 (2002)
Has the Charter Freed the Press? A Comparison of the Effects of United States and Canadian Constitutional Provisions on the Freedom of the Press to Attend and Cover Criminal Trials

handle is hein.journals/mistjintl11 and id is 149 raw text is: HAS THE CHARTER FREED THE PRESS? A COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF UNITED STATES AND CANADIAN CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS ON THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS TO ATTEND AND COVER CRIMINAL TRIALS Christian Huffinan* INTRODUCTION Americans take media access to criminal court proceedings, particularly murder trials, for granted. We hear about them on the radio as we're driving to work, read about them in the morning paper as we sip our coffee, and watch them on the evening news as we relax after dinner. For example, in October of 1995, people all across the country glued themselves to the television as a court clerk read a jury verdict declaring O.J. Simpson not guilty of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.' In 1996, Court TV provided daily coverage of the murder trial, and later conviction, of Lyle and Erik Menendez for brutally slaying their parents with shotguns.2 And, in June of 2001, CNN, among others, promptly relayed to American citizens that U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch had refused to stop the scheduled execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.3 Indeed, over the past several years the American media has kept citizens * J.D. anticipated, Michigan State University-Detroit College of Law, May 2003; B.B.A. Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship, Kennesaw State University, 1999. I would like to thank Professor Kevin W. Saunders, whose course on Comparative Constitutional Law inspired this note. I would also like to thank my colleagues on the MSU- DCL Journal of International Law, without whom this publication would not have been possible. Finally, this note is dedicated to my parents, Jerry and Susan Huffman, for the sacrifices and hardships they have endured on my behalf, and for twenty-six years of relentless love and support; and also to my grandfather, Frederick Lichtman, the first of three generations to attend DCL, and whose achievements set the standard which myself and all the others have tried to meet. 1. Not Guilty: Trial of the century ends with Simpson's acquittal, CNN.com, at http://www.cnn.com/US/OJ/daily/9510/10-03/index.html (Oct. 3, 1995). 2. California v. Lyle and Erik Menendez, Court TV Online, at http://www.courttv.com/casefiles/menendez/ (1999). 3. McVeigh attorneys to appeal ruling against stay, CNN.com, at http://www.cnn.com/2001/LAW/06/06mcveigh.hearing.03 (June 6, 2001).

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