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Kobe Bryant’s Aug. 6 trial hearing will draw more media attention than did this year’s NBA Finals.

Even now, weeks before the prosecution or defense has had a chance to lay down their case, millions have already passed judgment on the young Laker, fueling online polls about Kobe’s guilt or innocence.

To reiterate, based on absolutely no physical or testimonial evidence, millions of educated people have already made up their minds in what is, as of now, a he-said, she-said case.

It is a shame, but for cases as over-hyped as Kobe’s, guilt isn’t decided in a court of law, but in the far more fickle court of public opinion, based on little more than speculation. And the 24-hour news networks are feeding the rumor mills.

Already, the likes of CNN and the Fox News Channel devote hours a day to covering what little information they can scrounge up on the case and feeding the public’s insatiable appetite for speculation.

Intimate details about the victim’s past – from her overdoses to ex-boyfriends to her American Idol audition – have been painstakingly analyzed by the networks. During the hour I watched Fox News, I found out from the victim’s “friends” that she is honest and would never lie about this sort of thing, and that the hotel room they were in was very quiet and remote. I learned from Kobe that he was “disgusted with (himself) for making the mistake of adultery.”

While as entertaining as any discussion on sexual assault can be, one has to wonder whether or not Fox News will be able to find anything even less relevant to fill the time until the trial begins. This type of “news” is a common sight on cable television and shamefully promotes the judgment, and in turn, punishment of an innocent man.

Take O.J. Simpson for example. There was a general consensus on his guilt and therefore, was treated as such, despite his being found not guilty. He may be free legally, but he will always be seen as a murderer. Even after being found not guilty, he was ostracized by the public with all hopes of living a normal life as an innocent man gone. This is the power of public perception in spite of verdict.

If people begin to perceive Kobe as guilty, he becomes “guilty” in consequence. Sprite and Adidas will drop him like a bad habit because they do not want a perceived rapist endorsing their product. The Staples Center will become less a sports venue and more a protest center if the public does not feel justice is done. His name and clean image will be gone, along with adoration and money, based on questionable reporting, not trial verdicts.

Seeing just how important they are in determining guilt, early leaks are more legal strategies than they are mistakes. They hope to bias the jury pool even before the trial begins.

Is there really any place in the U.S. that can hold a fair trial with all the news coverage mudslinging? If the defense can get enough reports about the woman’s mental state leaked, even with the gag order, Kobe will be deemed innocent in the eyes of the public. If the prosecution can show some physically damning bruises or tears of the victim’s clothes, Kobe is done. The reading of the verdict will be merely a formality.

Thus the power that the media holds over the sway of public opinion cannot be taken lightly. There should be more responsibility taken over the type of content being looped over and over on television for the sake of higher ratings. We must let the judicial process play its course, and reserve judgment, at least until facts begin to emerge in a sea of propaganda.

Moon is a second-year pre-business economics student.

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