Student News Reporter Contest

A GUIDE TO JOURNALISTICA GUIDE TO JOURNALISTIC

REPORTING & WRITINGREPORTING & WRITING

ABOUT THE COURTSABOUT THE COURTS

T H E N E B R A S K A M O C K T R I A L S T U D E N T N E W S R E P O R T E R C O N T E S T

Overview of the Nebraska Court System...Page 2 - 5

Types of Cases

Types of Courts

Elements of a Trial

Journalism Standards and Ethics...Page 6

Reporting a Trial...Page 7

Elements of a News Article...Page 8 - 9

How to Structure an Article...Page 10 - 12

The courts are essential for protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals in civil

society. They provide a systematic forum for the peaceful resolution of disputes. They

determine the constitutionality of new laws, providing a critical counterbalance to the

legislative and executive branches of government. Finally, they apply justice in criminal

cases — deciding whether the accused is guilty or not guilty of a crime and what a just

punishment should be.

Journalists write the first account of history, which includes documenting important and

newsworthy court decisions.

Journalists also fill an indispensable role by monitoring court procedures: verdicts, rulings,

decisions, and opinions. Journalists’ role in the judicial system is to inform readers about

court procedures with language that is clear, concise and easily understood. A journalist

should communicate legal decisions so that the reader can easily understand the outcomes

and significance of cases.

This guide outlines the elements of a journalistic article for the Nebraska Mock Trial

Student News Reporter Contest.

This guide is organized in sections so you can find and return to the individual subjects as

needed. The sections that discuss the court system and journalism standards are

overviews that provide context. The two sections about reporting and writing are

instructional to help you craft a story about the mock trial you will cover.

Thank you Nebraska journalist Joe Duggan

for writing this guide and supporting

Nebraska student journalists.

September 2022

Charges are filed on behalf of the state by county attorneys (called prosecutors) and can range

from infractions (least serious) to misdemeanors and to felonies (most serious).

Punishments range from fines, probation, jail terms, prison terms, or the death penalty. Prison

and execution are reserved for the most serious felonies.

Defendants have legal rights intended to ensure they are treated fairly and not convicted of

crimes they did not commit. First and foremost, this right includes having competent legal

representation. Defendants can be assigned competent legal representation if they cannot

afford such representation.

Defendants can plead guilty under the terms of a plea bargain if one is offered by the

prosecution. This agreement typically reduces the punishment in exchange for the plea.

Unless charges are dismissed by the prosecutor or a court, defendants who maintain their

innocence have the charges decided by a judge or jury.

Civil cases can include lawsuits, divorces and child custody disputes, protection orders,

personal injury claims, contract disagreements, class-action claims, etc.

Plaintiffs frequently seek damages in the form of monetary payments, legal fees, and court

costs.

The parties in a civil case can reach a settlement the avoid the expense and risk of a trial.

If a claim meets all the standards set by the law and the parties cannot reach a settlement, civil

cases are decided by judges or juries.

Criminal — The state charges an individual (called defendant) with a criminal offense. The

defendant is presumed innocent unless pleading guilty or found guilty by a judge or jury.

Civil — Legal action brought by a party (called plaintiff) seeking to resolve a dispute with another

party (called defendant.)

OVERVIEW OF THEOVERVIEW OF THE

NEBRASKA COURT SYSTEMNEBRASKA COURT SYSTEM

TYPES OF CASESTYPES OF CASES

Court where infractions and misdemeanors are decided.

Felonies are filed in county court. After a series of initial steps, procedures, and hearings,

felony cases are either dismissed or progress to district court.

County Court — Venue where criminal charges are filed.

District Court — Venue where felony criminal charges are decided, and civil cases are filed and

decided. The district court also acts as an appellate court for county court appeals.

Appellate Courts — Courts where appeals are decided. The Nebraska Court of Appeals and the

Nebraska Supreme Court are the state’s two primary appellate courts.

OVERVIEW OF THEOVERVIEW OF THE

NEBRASKA COURT SYSTEMNEBRASKA COURT SYSTEM

TYPES OF NEBRASKA COURTSTYPES OF NEBRASKA COURTS

KEY ELEMENTS OF A TRIALKEY ELEMENTS OF A TRIAL

https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/reporters-guide-nebraska-trial-court-procedures

Opening and Closing Arguments - Made by lawyers for the prosecution and defense in

criminal cases, or the plaintiff and defendant in civil cases.

They also provide a broad overview of the case, so they are helpful for journalists. Often,

some of the most quotable statements are made in opening arguments. But keep in mind,

they are not testimony or evidence.

Evidence - Is introduced by witnesses called to the standby lawyers for both sides of the

dispute. Lawyers question witnesses to elicit their testimony (evidence), either for the

purposes of establishing the credibility of the testimony or raising doubts about the credibility

of the testimony.

Judge’s Role - The judge manages the trial somewhat like an umpire manages a baseball

game. The judge decides what evidence to allow, makes rulings on objections offered by the

lawyers, and instructs the jury on its role in the trial. Although most cases are decided by juries,

the judge alone decides the verdict in select cases.

Jury’s Role - Jurors must listen closely to the evidence and the arguments during the trial

phase. After the trial concludes, jurors go to a private room in the courthouse to deliberate and

reach a verdict.

Most jury trials in Nebraska require 12 jurors

In criminal cases, all 12 jurors must reach the same verdict — either guilty or not guilty. If

even one juror does not agree with the verdict reached by the other 11, a mistrial is

declared.

In civil trials, Nebraska law allows verdicts to be reached if at least 10 of the 12 jurors reach

agreement.

Resource: Reporters' Guide to Nebraska Trial Court Procedures, Nebraska Judicial Branch:

“I hope readers feel like they were there with me,” said Jan Ransom, a reporter who has covered

high profile trials for the New York Times.

JOURNALISM STANDARDSJOURNALISM STANDARDS

AND ETHICSAND ETHICS

Reporters need to understand and communicate the allegations, legal arguments, judicial actions,

and final outcomes of court case. While the reporter must decide what to include and what to

leave out of the article, a straight news report should stand as an accurate and truthful account of

what occurred. News reporters produce non-fictional accounts only.

In news coverage, reporters strive for a high-degree of objectivity rather than taking one side in the

dispute over another. Readers rely on the information to be free from falsehoods, the writer’s

biases, opinions, or slants. If the account is false, factually incorrect, filled with grammatical

errors, or merely the writer’s opinion, it loses credibility with the reader and is largely diminished

in value.

That said, a good news story of a court case can and should include the opinions of the parties,

lawyers, jury members, and informed observers. The story should reflect the stakes, emotions, and

inherent drama of court cases. Reporters must strive to include a full range of opinions and

arguments to provide balance. Good reporters want to seek out and present all sides of the story

and they want to produce their stories in a manner that draws in and keeps the reader engaged.

Journalists are also obligated to be professional and ethical. The reader relies on journalists to

maintain these standards and a journalist who loses the trust of the reader cannot remain in the

profession.

COVERING A TRIALCOVERING A TRIAL

Witness testimony and exhibits (documents, reports, photos, physical objects) presented to

the jury.

The questions posed by the lawyers.

The decisions by the judge.

The expressions, reactions, and body language of the parties, lawyers, judge, and jurors.

What happens in open court during the course of a trial is public record and can be included in

your article. While you do not have the space or time to include everything, it is important that you

see as much of what happens as possible so you can understand the case and decide what

information is most important for your readers to know and understand.

Reporters must first and foremost pay close attention to everything that happens during the trial.

This includes:

WRITING A NEWS ARTICLEWRITING A NEWS ARTICLE

News Writing Fundamentals, George Mason University:

https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/guides/news-writing-fundamentals

Resource:

• Accurate. News articles must be faithfully accurate. Journalists take notes or, even better, make

a recording (when possible) of interviews. They rely on records and double check the factual

information they include (especially name spellings).

• Truthful. Journalism is not fiction. No made-up information or quotations may be included in a

news story. If sources or subjects state something that is false, the story needs to say so. If

unconfirmed information must be included, it needs to be clearly identified as such with proper

attribution.

• Objective. Good journalism provides all sides of a story. Disputes are rarely black-and-white, and

good reporting captures the nuances. This does not mean, however, that journalists allow sources

to state blatant falsehoods or distort the facts in stories.

• Free from opinion and personal biases. Everyone has biases and opinions. Journalists must

strive to keep theirs out of a news story.

A STRAIGHT NEWS REPORT MUST BE:A STRAIGHT NEWS REPORT MUST BE:

Spell words correctly. Use a dictionary as needed. Spell-check has limitations.

Always double-check name spellings.

Use proper grammar.

Write in complete sentences.

Use proper capitalization.

Use attribution so the reader knows who said what information.

Attribution Example) “If it doesn’t fit you must acquit,” defense attorney Johnnie Cochran

said during closing arguments of the OJ Simpson trial.

Quotations (or quotes) must contain the exact words as stated by the source. Quotes must

always be inside quotation marks. If you are not sure of the exact words, paraphrase the

statement and add attribution.

Quote Example) “The jury’s verdict serves justice and I hope it helps heal our community,”

said Madison County Attorney Joe Smith.

Paraphrase Example) Madison County Attorney Joe Smith called the jury’s verdict just. He

also said he hopes it can help heal a community that was deeply shaken by the senseless

killings of five people inside the Norfolk bank.

BASIC STORY ELEMENTSBASIC STORY ELEMENTS

SPELLING, GRAMMAR, & QUOTATIONSSPELLING, GRAMMAR, & QUOTATIONS

Lead

Body & Ending

Example of a lead in a criminal case:

A jury on Tuesday found ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder in the

killing of George Floyd.

Example of a lead in a civil case:

A Douglas County jury has awarded $26.1 million to a Sarpy County family who sued

Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha after their child was sent home following an

accidental fall and then suffered seizures that left her permanently disabled, though that

amount could be drastically reduced under a state cap on such verdicts.

Identify the most newsworthy info. Ask yourself, “What information do readers most need to

know if they read only this sentence?” That information should be in your lead. (When covering

trials, the verdict is the most newsworthy information.)

Think about the Five Ws: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Use as a guideline for what to

include in the lead. If possible, try to answer all five.

Keep it short. Ideally, craft your lead with fewer than 20 words. Readers frequently give up on

long sentences.

Many news reports provide the key information in the first three to five paragraphs. This structure

allows time-pressed readers to quickly get the most important developments by reading the top.

The structure that top loads the story with the key information is called the inverted pyramid style.

Instead of building chronologically to a climatic ending, the inverted pyramid starts with the

climatic/ending information and fills in the details afterward.

The first sentence of a news story is called the lead (sometimes spelled lede).

BASIC STORY STRUCTUREBASIC STORY STRUCTURE

WHAT TO PUT IN THE LEADWHAT TO PUT IN THE LEAD

STRUCTURE:STRUCTURE:

BASIC STORY STRUCTUREBASIC STORY STRUCTURE

Quick Summary. Provide a short sentence or two fairly high up in the body providing the

background of the case: the crime that led to the trial or the dispute that triggered the lawsuit.

More Detail. Starting with the second sentence (which is almost always a new paragraph) add

in detail and context.

Add quotes. The body of the story is the ideal place to add quotes, ideally from the parties in

both sides of the dispute or their lawyers. Often you get these from what is said during the

trial, but sometimes you get them by asking questions of the attorneys or parties in the

courthouse hallways after the trial ends.

Report what’s next. When is the sentencing? If the defendant was acquitted, report if they

were freed after the verdict. Do the parties who lost plan to appeal?

Conclude with more background of the case if needed.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/04/20/chauvin-trial-george-floyd

Example of the body of a story from a criminal case (paragraphs after the lead):

A jury on Tuesday found ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder in the killing of

George Floyd.

Chauvin was found guilty on all counts, including manslaughter in the death of the 46-year-old

Minneapolis man during an arrest, captured on video, that ignited national protest over police

brutality.

Chauvin was led away in handcuffs after the verdicts were read. Sentencing is expected in about

eight weeks.