Sunday, November 10, 2013

Reporting on the law

Big news broke last week in Columbia. The Western District Court of Appeals determined that the prosecutor's in Ryan Ferguson's trial had not followed the proper protocols. The judges did not say they think he is innocent of the murder he was convicted of committing. But, they did say they cannot be sure that with the evidence that should have been provided to the defense, that the jury would have found him guilty.

I was in the newsroom the day the news broke because my mass media class is no longer meeting. I had planned to start my literature review that day, but heard about the news and couldn't help myself.

I really wanted to be in the newsroom to watch how the story would be reported. Around noon, my editor asked me to write a legal interpretation of the appeals court's decision. She had interviewed an MU law professor and sent me two and half pages of interview notes. As I read, I realized that my comm law class has actually helped me better understand the law in general.

The content of this particular legal issue was dense and the subject not really easily explained in bullets like I had hoped. Seven hours, two phone calls with the law professor and one missed cross-cultural class later, I finished the article. It is by far the densest topic I've covered so far.

Ryan Ferguson appeals court ruling complex, focuses on Brady Violation

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