Dawit MekonnenHanna Yibrah2026-06-262026-06-262025-05https://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/8580This study examines the influence of pretrial publicity (PTP) on legal decision making among lawyers such as judges, prosecutors, criminal investigators as well as senior law students in Ethiopia. I interviewed 200 people with a formal questionnaire to learn about how what we heard from media news— fact-neutral, fact-negative, and sensational reports—impact on Lawyers judgments of crime and criminal justice, the emotions they feel, what they remember, and how confident they are. Studies showed people are more likely to make a decision on a guilty verdict and then feel more confident when compared to when they’ve heard either no news, or positive news. Fear was found to be the most powerful emotion for driving sense of guilt beyond reasonable doubt and shock made people surer of their decisions. It's absolutely mind-boggling how even people with legal training can be manipulated by the emotion kremlin in the media. These findings indicate that, with enhanced judiciary educations, ethically responsible media policy and media literacy for Ethiopia, a fair trial will be had. Tags: Pretrial publicity, legal professionals, emotional bias, media framing, legal judgment. Keywords: Pretrial publicity, legal professionals, emotional bias, media framing, legal judgmentenPretrial publicitylegal professionalsemotional biasmedia framinglegal judgmentThesis