Think about the purpose of a trial. Sure, its overriding purpose is to mete out justice, which includes high-minded ideals such as finding the truth, probing the meaning of mercy, and assuring equal protection to the great and the small. But it's also about being seen to seek those things.

Trials are about publicity in an open society. Closed trials are for authoritarian regimes, as are show trials, that is, the appearance of open justice, and the publicity that attaches to open justice, without any of the paraphernalia that goes along with the actual pursuit of justice, such as a competent defense.

We have always had media circuses surrounding the trials of celebrities, powerbrokers and infamous criminals. The only difference is that, now, transmission is instantaneous and practitioners are legion. It wears me out, but I'm not altogether displeased: it's harder to get away with stuff when, literally, the whole world's watching. That, also, is part of the purpose of a public trial.

One can call the prosecutors publicity hounds as well. Many a prosecutor has climbed the political ladder -- and the commercial one -- based on his or her prosecution of a famous person. Or one can name prosecutors "the righteous", and claim they were called blessed by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. I prefer somewhere in between for them, and also for their brethren at the defense table. But, if we honor the institutions by which we seek justice, and pay proper respect to the means as well as the ends, we can't claim glory for one part of the institution and smear the other part with disgrace. At least, we can't if we understand how the justice system works.