There’s a Reason Why It’s the 1st Amendment
Re “High Cost of Media Circuses,” Commentary, March 1: R. Foster Winans, no stranger to doing time for insider trading, oddly linked Martha Stewart with the likes of Scott Peterson and Michael Jackson and said, “The 1st Amendment lobby would howl in protest if any version of the British system were considered here. But I would argue that the 1st Amendment right to free speech should never trump the 6th Amendment right to ‘a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury.’ ” While one amendment in the Bill of Rights “trumping” another is not something we like to contemplate, others might argue that the right to free speech was seen to be so important to the writers of the Constitution, having freshly freed themselves from British rule, that they made it the 1st Amendment -- not the 6th.
Louis J. Ganim
Clifton Park, N.Y.
*
A scoop for the media: The most important story in the world today is the global war on terrorism. The least important is the Michael Jackson trial. Pass the word.
Herman Stein
Los Angeles
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
