The Anonymous Accused: Protecting Defendants' Rights in High-Profile Criminal Cases

Abstract

The public's interest in high-profile crimes and the media's coverage of high-profile trials have significantly increased over the past. fifty years, raising significant concerns about a high-profile defendant's right to a fair trial. This Note examines how pretrial publicity can affect the fairness of a high-profile criminal case and how courts have attempted to protect a high-profile defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial while still assuring the media's First Amendment right to freedom of the press. Specifically, the Note discusses and analyzes court made remedies as well as new remedies scholars have proposed to protect a high-profile criminal defendant's right to a fair trial. Finding such remedies ineffective, the Note considers whether defendant anonymity, which courts can apply in civil trials, could be an effective protection of a high-profile defendant's right to a fair trial.