LEGAL TV

October 27, 1998
		How are news programs focusing on legal matters affecting the public's perception of the law? Send in your questions and comments.

Oct. 19, 1998 A discussion on lawyers who appear on tv. Oct. 19, 1998 Background information on some lawyers who appear on tv. Sept.30, 1998 Have journalists become too dependent on anonymous sources? Sept.22, 1998 How did the press handle the president's grand jury appearance? NewsHour coverage of Media issues. NewsHour coverage of legal matters and the Starr investigation.	Since the O.J. Simpson trial captivated the nation, the number of television programs focusing on legal affairs has been on the rise. From CNN's Burden of Proof to CNBC's Rivera Live to MSNBC's White House in Crisis, each of the major cable news channels' offer some sort of legal affairs program. There is even an entire network - Court TV -- dedicated to live coverage of some of America's more famous, or infamous, trials. But how are these programs affecting the public's perceptions of the law and the U.S. legal system? Some experts, like Paul Campos, director of the Byron White Center for American Constitutional Study at the University of Colorado, find the trend worrisome. On the NewsHour, Professor Campos stated, "The most important aspects (of the Lewinsky matter) have nothing to do with anything lawyers have technical expertise regarding." But others, like Ann Coulter, an attorney and author, disagree. According to Ms. Coulter, the Lewinsky matter is a legal issue. "There are standards. There are precedents," Ms Coulter explained on the NewsHour, "It's a legal question. It's in the Constitution." What do you think? Should lawyers be acting as news commentators? How do legal programs affect peoples' view of the law? Answering your questions are Professor Paul Campos and Brad Berenson, criminal defense attorney and frequent television legal analyst.