Taking readers into the courtroom

Covering trials gavel to gavel is a rarity these days.

High-profile cases still generate daily coverage, but reporters may not be in the courtroom for all of the testimony and presentation of evidence.

Shrinking staffs and competing news can make trial coverage a challenge. Today’s deadlines are earlier, and story production takes more time, from attaching photographs and writing search-friendly headlines to creating, editing and uploading videos.

Even what’s considered a high-profile case has changed. At one time, a murder trial drew daily coverage. But sometimes those cases are now covered with a verdict-only story. Others get picked up later during sentencing.

Location also comes into play. Trial stories out of Bibb County often garner more attention. We also watch Houston and Peach counties closely. Trial coverage isn’t necessarily limited by geographic coverage areas, though.

Often, prosecution and defense attorneys are helpful in letting us know what witnesses are expected to testify on a given day. It can be a roll of the dice, and the story you read may simply be the testimony we heard that day.

Courts are fluid. A change in prosecution or defense strategy may alter the order of witnesses, a witness may be a no-show and a sheriff’s deputy may be dispatched to find him or her, or something may come up that needs to be heard outside the jury’s presence, shifting the day’s whole schedule.

I’ve covered trials in which a defendant decided to take a plea deal after the jury was already selected. I covered one recently when the trial was delayed because of a jury selection issue.

At times during a trial the prosecution is building a case and it’s tedious. A reader might get a sampling of what witnesses had to say about evidence that day. Details that may be crucial for a jury to hear in deciding a case might be pretty boring for a reader.

Sometimes I mention some of the witnesses but don’t write much about their testimony. For example, if a case has been covered in depth before trial and I’ve already written about how the victim died, I may not write much about what the medical examiner had to say in court.

Often, the defense keeps close to the vest whether the accused will testify. The defendant is protected under the Constitution from testifying, and if that’s the case, jurors are instructed not to hold such a decision against the person charged. The burden to prove guilt is always on the prosecution, and the accused is innocent until proven guilty. Sometimes I think defendants wrestle with that decision right up until the moment comes in court whether to take the stand.

When covering trials, I have two chief goals in mind. The first is to present a fair and balanced account that gives both sides of the story. The other goal is to take the reader into the courtroom for the day.

As for weighing the evidence as to guilt or innocence, that’s up to the jury.

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 3:28 PM with the headline "Taking readers into the courtroom."