Law and New Media: West of Everything

Examines the complex and varied interactions between law and the different visual media produced by changing technologies.

In this volume, international specialists from new and established domains of law, media, film and virtual studies address the emergence of the jurist in the era of digital transmission. Examining the jurisprudence of new visual technologies – from the cinema of the early twentieth century to the social media of our own time – this volume explores the multiple intersections of these visual technologies and the law from the theoretical insight they generate to the nature of law to the impact they have on doctrinal development.

Part One tracks the media, the technologies and apparatuses of modern law. It looks specifically at the acoustics of architecture, emblematic texts, films of trials, the prohibition of cameras in courtrooms and the rules of contempt, televised reporting of law, and the multiple fora and chat rooms of Facebook, vblogs, #hashtag law and the mobile-optimised web. Part Two examines the jurisprudential questions raised by new visual and virtual reality technologies of the 21st century. Will social media lead to social law? The force of legal remediation? Virtual courts and online judges? Paperless trials? Electronic discovery? All of these developments impact how we conceive of the practice of law.

Key Features:

• Includes an international range of contributions and coverage, from the United States and Europe to the Middle East and China
• Presents a firm historical foundation for considering the connections between law and new forms of media
• Includes a range of contributions from established scholars and promising new voices in the field
• Examines a wide range of new media, from online platforms to virtual reality