For years I wasn't sure if your average man on the street subscribed to this premise due to the number of empty seats in the gallery during your routine criminal trial. Few spectators care to see first hand what once was considered a form of live entertainment.
Court TV exists.
News programs like CNN's Burden of Proof have become mainstays. Courthouse correspondents like Cynthia McFadden are now well known. And from the manufactured entertainment arena, criminal law continues to dominate prime time as Law and Order lives on for another year while newbies like Ally McBeal and The Practice have made the network lineups. But it is the coverage of real crime that is the cornerstone of the media. Pick up a newspaper or watch TV on any given day and a criminal trial will certainly be one of the top stories.