When reporting crime, it is important to be careful not to stray into territories where you may be in contempt of court, these are the stages that Journalists should think of when reporting crime.
Stage 1: A crime is reported, no one has been arrested, police are searching for the perpetrator(s) and witnesses. There is at this stage no restriction on what a journalist can report, (as long as it's true, of course)
Stage 2: Police make an arrest (or issue a warrant) The case is now active (even if charges have not yet been brought) Journalists are now at risk of prejudicing a future trial, so must be careful with reports. Should seek legal advice before publishing anything.
Stage 3: Police make charges, meaning that a court case is probable, you can now only report facts that you are certain will be uncontested. E.g the charges that will be faced, the fact that somebody has died (for example), the name of defendant and victim. Only solid facts, nothing that will give the jury any additional information before it's heard in court.
Stage 4: Magistrates Court hearing. Seven points, outlined in last blog post.
Stage 5: The trial, reporting only what is heard by the jury, not including things shouted from the public gallery.
No comments:
Post a Comment