-Law enforcement informs media of lurid, grisly details of a sensational crime.
-Media further sensationalizes crime. Ratings soar. Newspapers fly off rack. Cable news shows have a field day.
-Grieving parent lobbies state legislature to pass a Child-Named Law.
-State elected officials burn Child-Named Law through legislative session in two short months. Must "protect the children". Obviously, parents cannot protect children without the help of government.
-Grieving parent, armed with new found fame and exceptionally cool motorcycle, travels country to lobby additional state legislatures as well as the federal government to pass Child-Named Law. Manipulates media to promote cause. Look what happened to my child. The same could happen to your child. Fear. Fear. Fear. The government must help parents protect their children.
-Media jumps at chance to interview grieving parent and state officials. Law enforcement officials included on the interview panel. All in the name of "protecting children." Obviously, parents need all the help they can get.
-States pass Child-Named Law. Municipalities within states pass additional ordinances. Witchhunt laws. Banishment. Shunning. Public ridicule. Public stocks. Ex post facto. Unconstitutional. But necessary to help parents "protect the children". Necessary for public safety.
-Legal challenges filed by those effected by ex post facto laws. Media interview Jane and John Does. Elected officials questioned regarding the legal legs of Child-Named Law. Officials demure that the inconvenience to those effected by the Child-Named Law is well worth the safety to the public and their children. Ratings soar. Newspapers fly off rack. Cable news hosts shrug indifferent shoulders.
-Familes effected by witchhunt laws organize, fight back, become activists. Enough is enough. Media descends to discuss the possibilities of collateral damage associated with witchhunt laws. Ratings soar. Newspapers fly off rack. Cable news shows ponder the question of how best to "protect the children."
-The Congress considers federal legislation. More grieving high profile parents with Child-Named Laws of their own under their belts, surface and lobby the media. Must "protect the children". Stigmatized family activists fight back. Parents protect children, not government! Ratings soar. Newspapers fly off rack. Cable news shows pat selves on back for civic contribution and congratulate selves for presenting both sides of the story.
-One year later, the alleged murderer's court proceedings open, one county removed from the crime. The jury pool has read the newspaper, watched the news, listen to radio commentary, and observed the anquish of cable news television hosts. That poor child. My child could be next. Can we do more to "protect the children"?
-Judge halts court proceedings. Impossible to seat an impartial jury. The jury pool is tainted.
Ratings soar. Newspapers fly off rack. Perplexed by the court's actions, cable show Court TV's "Banfield and Ford" broadcast the alleged murderer's audio confession, previously ruled inadmissable by the judge, nationwide.
-Move trial to Siberia.