High Cost of Media Circuses

When Martha Stewart leaves prison this weekend, she will walk into the arms of a media circus and a commercial juggernaut that promises to turn what would be a shameful moment for anyone else into a triumph of marketing. There's something terribly wrong with this picture, and what it says about our culture's ethics and sense of fair play is deeply disturbing.

In the good old days of the 1980s, when I was a Wall Street Journal columnist convicted and sent to prison for insider trading, celebrity justice meant scuttling in and out of courthouses through side doors with your head down and your mouth shut. A few of us who thought we had some insight to share about our bad behavior wrote books and appeared on talk shows, but always after the fact and with remorse. We did not hire armies of advisors to spin the case before trial, nor did we send our relatives out to appear on "Larry King Live" to testify to our loving natures.

Today, there are no rules. We are treated to the spectacle of Scott Peterson achieving rock star status before his conviction for murder, Michael Jackson dancing atop an SUV on his way to arraignment on charges of child molestation and, during her trial, Stewart posting reassuring notes to adoring fans.

These manipulations by the defendants directly undermine our judicial system: Innocent people are identified as suspects; witnesses' lives are ruined; it becomes impossible to pick an untainted jury; jurors are distracted by their fear of or desire for fame; judges are distracted; ambitious prosecutors and defense attorneys try cases on talk shows before the first witness is called; costly mistrials are triggered.

Our fascination with celebrity justice sends a perverted message about the difference between right and wrong (there isn't much) and about equal justice for all (there isn't any). It all started in the 1980s, after my case became public, when then-U.S. Atty. Rudolph Giuliani became notorious for grandstanding for the media by having Wall Street suspects shackled in their offices and perp-walked to the booking room and for discussing evidence on the courthouse steps. Giuliani helped legitimize trial by media, and defendants have been fighting back ever since.