The effectiveness of the criminal trial process as a means of achieving justice
The criminal trial process aims to provide justice for all those involved, while it succeeds in the majority of cases, it effectiveness is influenced and reduced by certain factors. These include the legal representation involved in a case and the availability of legal aid, the capacity of the jury assessing the trial, the credibility of scientific evidence and the impact of social media on the trial process. Due to such flaws the criminal trial process is not always an effective means of achieving justice.
There is often unfair advantages in the trial process as not all members of society have the same access to legal representatives or availability of …show more content…

This is not the only impact social media has had on the trial process. The internet and social media has had such an impact on the criminal courts that there is now a jury construction warning against the electronic communication during a criminal trial. It specifically prohibits using electronic devices to blog, twitter, email etc. A Criminal Defence Attorney Michael P. Ehline discusses in a blog (May 21st, 2012) how sites such as facebook undermine a case, he mentions how photos and messages sent can be used against you in court, this does not apply only to defendants, but to victims and witnesses as well. A defence attorney may locate victims or witnesses online to see if they are discussing or involved in anything that may discredit them and that can use against them in court. The impact of social media also affects one of the fundamental tenets of the criminal justice system: the presumption of innocence. For a community to be exposed to a social media that appears to disregard that presumption and jump straight to a ‘guilty’ verdict without trial or evidence could prove problematic for said community. It can therefore impact adversely on what is the best possible outcome, for the courts to do their jobs and justice to be served.
While in many cases the criminal trial process is reaching the aims of a fair and just outcome for all those involved, these previously stated factors have shown to reduce its effectiveness