A crime is an act punishable by the state that causes harm or discontent against a community or individual. It is known that a crime is "an action or omission which constitutes a crime prosecutable by the State and punishable by law"1. Crime can be classified through a variety of elements that violate the rights of a community as a whole. Criminal acts are punishable upon proof of guilt presented in court. Consequently, criminal law is the law that defines these crimes and can facilitate or establish their subsequent punishments. These criminal laws are enforced through criminal procedures and trials. These processes, however, can be influenced, corrected and sometimes even regulated by the media. This creates a strong problem of injustice and unfair trials within society and could prove detrimental to the foundations of just law and punishment. The term “media trial” is used when individuals and others involved in legal proceedings or cases believe that media coverage and public opinion have violated their right to a fair trial. This often includes the idea that information published through the media can influence the jury's decision and override fair and equitable decision-making, therefore not allowing the individual to have the right to plead innocent until proven guilty. There have been many incidents and cases that have led the media to publish incorrect judgments or create their own illegitimate finality or opinion on a case, thus publishing headlines that lean towards bias. This tends to undermine the role of the judiciary, which has not yet established a punishment for the individual. This means that the jury could easily enter the courtroom, already knowing about the invalid media...... middle of paper ......dated: November 17, 2011Dictionarywww.dictionary.reference.com/browseCopyright 2011BBC News On This Day (1950 - 2005) "Your memories of the Dingo boy trial" http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/october/29/newsid_4395000/4395984.stmD'Arcy, William Theodore - Bill D'Arcy Support Group “Victim of Media Trial” http://www.apersonalhistory.com/Bill_D'Arcy/frBillAppeal.html Lawrence, Kara Daily Telegraph “Inside the Mind of the Evil Predator” http: //www.dailytelegraph. com.au/news/inside-the-mind-of-evil-predator-convicted-paedophile-dennis-ferguson/story-e6freuy9-1225776838465Date: 19 September 2009BOOKS:Miller, Frederic P “Trial By Media” VDM Publishing House Ltd 2010Totaro , Paola “Born or Bred?: Martin Bryant” Fairfax Books, 2009 Writer, Larry “The Australia Book Of True Crime” Pier 9 Publishing 2008