General Definitions and Purposes

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BLACK LETTER
Part I. General DefInItIons anD PurPoses
Standard 8-1.1. Purposes of the Standards
(a) These Standards have three primary goals:
(i) First, they are intended to provide a guide to best prac-
tices for lawyers and other professionals involved in
criminal cases, including investigators and members of
law enforcement, with respect to communications with
the public;
(ii) Second, they are intended to provide a guide to best
practices for lawyers who provide public commentary
or consult on criminal cases in which they are not per-
sonally involved;
(iii) Third, they are intended to provide a guide to best prac-
tices for judges and judicial employees in anticipating
and responding to public interest in criminal cases, and
ensuring that jurors are not exposed to extrajudicial
information about a case.
(b) With respect to each of these goals, these Standards reflect the
views of the ABA that:
(i) a transparent and open criminal justice system is of crit-
ical importance in our democracy;
(ii) lawyers and others involved in the criminal justice sys-
tem have a duty to ensure that criminal cases are con-
ducted fairly and that verdicts are rendered solely on
the basis of the evidence presented in court;
(iii) lawyers and others involved in the criminal justice sys-
tem also have a duty to promote respect for and confi-
dence in the criminal justice system; and
(iv) developments in information technology and in how
individuals obtain information have made it unnec-
essary for purposes of these Standards to differenti-
ate between members of the general public and those
who are members of the traditional “Press” or “News
Media.” This represents a departure from prior editions
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