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Then there is the question of whether televising this kind of trial, for this kind of alleged crime, is appropriate at all. For the accuser, the bitterest part of a rape trial is the experience of having her personal life spread before the court, and usually torn apart by the defense. Gavel-to-gavel coverage only magnifies the misery -- perhaps even more so in this instance, as the accuser's face is concealed on camera in a way that protects her identity but also turns her into a cipher. The prospect of being at center ring in their own media circus may be discouraging other rape victims from coming forward Reported rapes in Palm Beach County dropped from 96 in April, when the Smith story broke, to 68 in November.
Nonetheless, Smith's accuser made moving and effective use of her two days on the stand. Her sometimes tearful testimony put defense attorney Roy Black in a delicate position. He subjected her to a no-stone-unturned cross- examination that revealed what he said were inconsistencies in her testimony on such matters as whether she screamed during the reported rape. But even restrained questioning of a purported rape victim can sound like an accountant torturing a political prisoner, which can alienate jurors. And at no point did the woman budge from her central contention: "Your client raped me."
Alan Dershowitz, the Harvard University law professor and outspoken defense attorney, thinks the tearful outbursts of Smith's accuser are affected by television. "You're playing to a bigger stage, to the world, and your gestures have to be bigger," he says. Unlike theater, however, TV is a medium geared to close-ups, where small gestures work too. On the stand, Senator Kennedy made his own play to the emotions in a subdued fashion. And even in a sensational trial, emotional high points may be less important to the jury than the persistent repetition of a bit of evidence that either side insists is crucial. Defense attorney Black spent much of last week hammering away at the mystery of when the alleged victim took off her panty hose, an issue that could support the defense claim that she invited sex with Smith by removing them before the couple went strolling on the beach. The prosecution is likely to stress the doctor's report that shows that Smith's accuser suffered injuries consistent with a rape.
In the end, TV may help the law by exposing the painstaking accumulation of facts required to prove guilt. It is a dispiriting truth, however, that viewers fail to demand fuller coverage of proceedings that don't involve Kennedys and panty hose -- like the trials of Manuel Noriega or S&L bandit Charles Keating Jr. But showmanship still counts. Would it be any surprise if the cameras tempted lawyers, witnesses and judges to posture a bit more than they already would for the jury? Maybe these matters were better understood back in 1962, when Raymond Burr, the star of Perry Mason, sought a meeting with Edward Bennett Williams, the famous defense attorney. In those days it seemed fitting that a make-believe lawyer should look for tips from a real one. It may soon be the other way around. Mr. Burr, check your messages.