The trial was a media spectacle, and one where the fashion icon wore his pajama bottoms to court and danced atop a car.

CNN: Michael Jackson in the headlines

His return created a media spectacle during batting practice.

WSJ: Mets Steal Reyes's Spotlight

Could it be that exit and opinion polls remain largely a luxury of the chattering classes and a news media environment which needs prime-time excitement and spectacle?

BBC: NEWS | South Asia | Indian exit polls steal the show

But the way the media and the public perception of these cases plays out is important in ways that transcend the ugliness of the spectacle itself.

FORBES: Casey Anthony And The Court of Public Opinion