BENCH-BAR-PRESS COMMITTEE OF WASHINGTON

                  STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES

                          PREAMBLE

    The Bench, Bar and Press (comprising all media of mass communication)
of Washington:

    (a) Recognize that reporting by the news media of governmental action,
including the administration of justice, is vital to our form of government
and protected by the Constitutions of the United States and the State of
Washington.

    (b) Seek to preserve the constitutionally protected presumption of
innocence for those accused of a crime until there has been a finding of
guilt in the appropriate court of justice.

    (c) Believe both constitutional rights can be accommodated without
conflict by careful judicial craftsmanship and careful exercise of
discretion by the bench, the bar, and the news media.

                         PRINCIPLES

    To promote a better working relationship between the bench, bar and
news media of Washington, particularly in their efforts to protect both the
constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press and of the right to a
fair and impartial trial, the following statement of principles is
suggested for voluntary consideration to all members of these professions
in Washington. Any attempt to impose these Principles and Considerations as
mandatory is contrary to the intent of the Bench-Bar-Press Committee and
contrary to the stated goals of these Principles and Considerations.

    1. Accurate and responsible reporting of the news media about crime,
law enforcement, and the criminal justice system enhances the
administration of justice. Members of the bench and bar should make
available information concerning that process to the fullest extent
possible under their codes of conduct and professional responsibility.

    2. Parties to litigation have the right to have their causes tried by
an impartial tribunal. Defendants in criminal cases are guaranteed this
right by the Constitutions of the United States and the State of
Washington.

    3. Lawyers and journalists should fulfill their functions in such a
manner that cases are tried on the merits, free from undue influence by the
pressures of news media reports. To that end, the timing and nature of
media news reports should be carefully considered. It is recognized that
the existence of news coverage cannot be equated with prejudice to a fair
trial.

    4. The news media recognize the responsibility of the judge to preserve
courtroom decorum and to seek to ensure both the open administration of
justice and a fair trial through careful management.

    5. A free press requires that journalists decide the content of news.
Journalists in the exercise of their discretion should remember that
readers, listeners, and viewers are potential jurors.

    6. The public is entitled to know how justice is being administered.
However, lawyers should be aware that the timing and nature of publicity
they create may affect the right to a fair trial. The public prosecutor
should avoid taking unfair advantage of his position as an important source
of news, even though he should release information about the administration
of justice at the earliest appropriate times.

    7. Proper judicial, journalistic and legal training should include
instruction in the meaning of constitutional rights to a fair trial, open
justice and freedom of the press, and the role of judge, journalist and
lawyer in guarding these rights. The bench, the bar and the press will
endeavor to provide for continuing education to members of each respective
profession concerning these rights.

    8. Open and timely communications can help avoid confrontations. Toward
that end all parties are urged to employ the Bench-Bar-Press Committees
Liaison Subcommittee when conflicts or potential conflicts arise.

              CONSIDERATIONS IN THE REPORTING
                  OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

    The Bench-Bar-Press Committee offers the following recommendations for
voluntary consideration of all parties. They may be of assistance in
educating law enforcement, the press, bar and bench concerning the exercise
of rights, duties and obligations outlined in the Statement of Principles.

    The bench, bar, press, and law enforcement officials share in the
responsibility for the administration of an open and fair system of
justice. Each has a special role which the others should respect and none
should try to regulate the judgment of the others.

    Public interest in the administration of justice may be particularly
great at times prior to trial. Pretrial proceedings often are as important
to the open administration of justice as the actual trial. The bench should
help ensure both openness and fairness through commonly accepted judicial
procedures consistent with these principles. The bar should carefully
consider the timing and nature of the publicity it creates. The media
should contribute to openness and fairness by careful evaluation of
information that may be kept from the jury at trial and by exercise of
restraint in reporting that information.

    All parties should be aware that the jury system has the capacity to
provide unprejudiced panels even in cases of great public interest and
substantial media coverage.

    1. It is appropriate to make public the following information
concerning the defendant:

    (a) The defendants name, age, residence, employment, marital status,
and similar background information. There should be no restraint on
biographical facts other than accuracy, good taste, and judgment.

    (b) The substance or text of the charge, such as complaint, indictment,
information and where appropriate, the identity of the complaining party.

    (c) The identity of the investigating and arresting agency and the
length of the investigation.

    (d) The circumstances immediately surrounding an arrest, including the
time and place of arrest, resistance, pursuit, possession and use of
weapons, and a description of items seized at the time of arrest.

    2. The release of certain types of information by law enforcement
personnel, the bench and the bar and the publication thereof by news media
generally tends to create dangers of prejudice without serving a
significant law enforcement or public interest function. Therefore, all
concerned should be aware of the dangers of prejudice in making pretrial
public disclosures of the following:

    (a) Opinions about a defendants character, his guilt or innocence.

    (b) Admissions, confessions or the contents of a statement or alibis
attributable to a defendant.

    (c) References to the results of investigative procedures, such as
fingerprints, polygraph examinations, ballistic tests, or laboratory tests.

    (d) Statements concerning the credibility or anticipated testimony of
prospective witnesses.

    (e) Opinions concerning evidence or argument in the case, whether or
not it is anticipated that such evidence or argument will be used at trial.

    Exceptions may be in order if information to the public is essential to
the apprehension of a suspect or where other public interests will be
served.

    3. Prior criminal convictions are matters of public record and are
available to the news media through police agencies or court clerks; law
enforcement agencies should, if requested, make such information available
to the news media. The public disclosure of this information by the news
media may be highly prejudicial without any significant addition to the
publics need to be informed. The publication of such information should be
carefully considered.

    4. Law enforcement and court personnel should not prevent the
photographing of defendants when they are in public places outside the
courtroom. They should not encourage pictures or televising nor should they
pose the defendant. The media should recognize that a judge is subject to
the Code of Judicial Conducts Canon 3(7) which provides:

        A judge may permit broadcasting, televising, recording, and taking
    photographs in the courtroom during sessions of the court, including
    recesses between sessions, under the following conditions:

            (a) Permission shall have first been expressly granted by the
    judge and under such conditions as the judge may prescribe;

            (b) The media personnel will not distract participants or
    impair the dignity of the proceedings; and

            (c) No witness, juror, or party who expresses any prior
    objection to the judge shall be photographed nor shall the testimony
    of such a witness, juror, or party be broadcast or telecast.
    Notwithstanding such objection, the judge may allow the broadcasting,
    televising, recording, or photographing of other portions of the
    proceedings.

    Artists renditions sketched in the courtroom are not governed by this
canon and should not be curtailed unless such actions unduly distract
participants or impair the dignity of the proceedings.

    5. Photographs of a suspect may be released by law enforcement
personnel provided a valid law enforcement function is served thereby. It
is proper to disclose such information as may be necessary to enlist public
assistance in apprehending fugitives from justice.

    6. The media are free to report what occurs in the course of judicial
proceedings. All participants in the administration of justice should work
to keep the entire course of judicial proceedings, including pretrial
hearings, open to public scrutiny. The bench should consider using all the
means available to ensure protection of a defendants constitutional rights
without interfering with the publics scrutiny of the criminal justice
system. The closure of a judicial proceeding should be used only as a last
resort.

    7. The bar and law enforcement officials should expect that their
statements about a case will be reported in the media. Such statements
should be made in a time and manner contributing to public understanding of
law enforcement and the criminal justice system, rather than influencing
the outcome of a criminal trial.