The power of the press
The New York Times recently had an interesting story concerning the budget cuts for many newspapers. The story pointed out the potential effect such cuts would have an innocence cases. You might wonder how cuts to a newspaper would impact convicted defendants. The answer is quite simple; a significant number of exonerations have been based on the work of investigative reporters. Such reporting is generally the first to go when newspapers start cutting costs. While it can generate readership, it does so with significant costs.
So why do we need investigative reporters? The most obvious answer is that they have two resources many lawyers do not have; money and time. Innocence investigations often involve massive amounts of time; which is something few lawyers have. Even if they had the time, they seldom have the resources a newspaper can devote to a case. Innocence Projects are free from some of the constraints that private lawyers operate under, but they have their own constraints; they have to weed through thousands of cases, and determine which ones to devote their limited resources to. Few have big staffs, and most utilize volunteers for the bulk of the work.
There's another reasons why reporters are effective - they know how to investigate. They do it every day. Investigative technique is not something taught in law school. A certain type of skill is necessary, which few lawyers have. I've had the privilege of working with several excellent journalists over the years, and that has made me acutely aware of how lacking I am in the skills necessary to be an effective investigator. Reporters are trained to get to the bottom of a story; they know what to look for, and how to look for it.
I think there is also another reason why reporters are so effective - people want to talk with them. I'm not talking about politicians, and business people, but ordinary, every day people. They are flattered when a reporter wants to talk with them, and often bend over backward to help. In contrast, most people avoid lawyers like the plague. When they do talk, they guard their answers for fear of what you are going to do with the information. There's been more than one occasion where I have seen a reporter get information that a lawyer and even their investigator could not obtain.
I wholeheartedly agree that cuts in investigative reporting are going to have a negative impact on cirminal justice. There will be many defendants who will have to serve out their sentence because there is no one to take up their case. I wish I had an answer; maybe help will come from the blogosphere. There are already a number of reporter who have switched over to getting their information out through the internet.
For all those reporters who are getting laid off, thank you for what you done. I hope you find to continue to your work.
