Pamela Smart's Jury

As our class looks at the Pamela Smart trial we see that many jurors are rejected because they admit to having bias before the case due to the media coverage concerning Smart. I say this is an easy out for many selected jurors. The media did cover Pamela Smart and establish biases against her before trial but that does not necessarily mean the bias has to come into play during trail. As a juror, their job is to determine guilty or not guilty by the evidence and defense provided. The media does create a form of bias but as jurors it is their job to empty that bias and make a decision based off whether or not evidence proved Pamela Smart was guilty or not guilty. I know it is hard to do but easy to say "simply empty one's bias" but to me it seems a simple concept. The media is doing their job, providing stories and entertainment to the public. These selected jurors were not doing their job by allowing media bias to get in their way. Jurors need to act as judges, look at the evidence, look at the arguments and defense then make a decision based on the materials provided. Media influence did not have to be an issue during this trial but I feel people allowed it to distract from the actual function of being a juror.