That's an understatement. Lawyers treat trials like NFL games. They offer opinions off the cuff, second-guess their colleagues, and spar with one another. The public, already overwhelmed by the media bombardment of commentary and dubious information on big stories, now has to contend with publicity-hungry lawyers, some with questionable credentials and credibility. Levenson says she's kept a list of the most mindless questions asked of her as a TV commentator on the Rodney King beating case in l992.
Lawyers represent only one aspect of civic life.
Overuse of the legal perspective by media, particularly television, can skew coverage of stories in critical ways. The law was never the issue in the Simpson trial, race was. And perjury isn't really the issue in the Lewinsky scandal - politics and values are. Inherently combative, lawyers talk in terms of legal precedent, strategy, and gamesmanship. They're hardly in the best position to provide intelligent socio-cultural or political analysis, as we saw nightly during the Lewinsky drama.