Contempt of Court Defences Overview
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Questions and Answers

What does the Police Appeals Defence allow the press to do?

  • Report any information related to ongoing cases without limitations
  • Avoid reporting on any active cases entirely
  • Legitimately run stories appealing for information on wanted suspects without fear of contempt prosecution (correct)
  • Publish potentially prejudicial information only if requested by police

The Police Appeals Defence was mentioned in legislation.

False (B)

What happens to the Police Appeals Defence once a wanted person is arrested?

The defence disappears and normal contempt service resumes.

Police Appeals Defence was established during the debate on the Contempt Bill in the year _____

<p>1981</p> Signup and view all the answers

Match the following terms with their correct descriptions:

<p>Police Appeals Defence = Allows reporting on police appeals for wanted suspects Section 3 Defence = Provides protection for innocent publication Contempt of Court = Publishing information that interferes with legal proceedings Active Proceedings = Legal cases currently being heard in court</p> Signup and view all the answers

What must be true for the Section 3 Defence to apply to a publisher?

<p>The publisher must have taken reasonable care and not know of the active proceedings (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Publishers have been frequently prosecuted for assisting police with their inquiries under contempt law.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The case of an armed robbery at a jewelry store can lead to potential _____ proceedings if prejudicial information is published.

<p>legal</p> Signup and view all the answers

What information might a publisher include if given by police regarding a wanted suspect?

<p>Pictures, names, ages, and last known addresses of the wanted suspects.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of the Attorney General's statement during the Contempt Bill debate?

<p>It assured the press of protection while publishing regarding police appeals (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What must a reporter confirm regarding a case to ensure reasonable care is taken?

<p>Whether the case is active or if someone has been arrested/charged (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Distributors are guilty of contempt if they did not know a publication contained prejudicial matter.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What should best practice dictate regarding comments on active court cases?

<p>Do not allow comments or remove prejudicial comments immediately.</p> Signup and view all the answers

A person is not guilty of contempt for a fair and accurate report of a court case held in public, published __________ and in good faith.

<p>contemporaneously</p> Signup and view all the answers

Match the following components of the Section 4 defence with their descriptions:

<p>State allegations = Describe what the accused is said to have done Agreed matters = Only state facts that are undisputed Include pleas = Clearly state both sides' positions Indicate case status = Mention if the trial is ongoing or adjourned</p> Signup and view all the answers

What constitutes 'good faith' in reporting a court case?

<p>Excluding material that could prejudice the case (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

You do not have to leave out anything the jury has heard in court as part of the evidence.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is required when publishing a report according to the Section 4 defence?

<p>The report must be fair, accurate, and published in good faith.</p> Signup and view all the answers

If the hearing has been __________, this indicates that the case is not yet over.

<p>adjourned</p> Signup and view all the answers

What should a reporter do if comments are allowed under active cases?

<p>Remove prejudicial comments immediately (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Reporter's Responsibility

Reporters should confirm case status with the police before publishing to avoid potential contempt of court.

Distributors and Contempt

News organizations are not guilty of contempt of court for publishing prejudicial material if they took reasonable care and didn't know it was prejudicial.

Best Practice: Comments

It's best practice to disable comments on active cases to avoid prejudicial content.

Section 4 Defence

A legal defense available for publishing fair and accurate reports of publicly held court proceedings.

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Contemporary Reports Defence

Reporting a case with accuracy, fairness, and contemporaneously to avoid contempt of court.

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Distinguishing Facts & Allegations

The defence for contemporary reports requires clear distinction between allegations, claims, and agreed facts.

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Signaling Ongoing Case

The reporting must clearly indicate that the case is ongoing for the section 4 defence.

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Accurate Reporting

The defense relies on publishing accurate information from the courtroom, even if the information is not true.

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Contemporaneously

Reporting must be published as soon as practicably possible after the court proceedings.

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Good Faith

To avoid contempt, reports should exclude anything that might seriously prejudice the case or any other case.

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Police Appeals Defence

A legal defence to contempt of court that allows publication of potentially prejudicial information when it's requested by police to help catch wanted suspects.

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Precedence of Attorney General

A precedent set by the Attorney General, not mentioned in any legislation, allowing the press to publish information to assist police in catching suspects, even if it's potentially prejudicial to active proceedings.

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Press Coverage of Police Appeals

The press can publish appeals from the police to catch wanted suspects without fear of contempt of court, as long as the information is presented fairly and reasonably.

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End of Police Appeals Defence

The Police Appeals Defence disappears once the wanted person is arrested, and normal contempt rules apply again. The press can no longer publish potentially prejudicial information.

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Section 3 Defence - Innocent Publication

A statutory defence to contempt of court where a publisher can claim they were unaware of active legal proceedings and took reasonable care to avoid publishing potentially prejudicial information.

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Reasonable Care and Unawareness

The publisher must have taken reasonable care not to publish any information relating to the active proceedings, and must have genuinely been unaware of their existence.

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Newspaper's Contempt Dilemma

The police informed the press about suspects in an armed robbery, but the suspects were arrested after the newspaper's deadline but before it was printed.

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Potential Prejudicing of Proceedings

The newspaper's publication of the suspects' information, even though they were arrested before the paper hit the streets, potentially prejudices active proceedings.

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Newspaper's Potential Defence

The newspaper could argue that they had no reason to suspect the men were not still at large, even though they were arrested, because they weren't informed about those arrests before publication.

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Lessons from the News Story

This case demonstrates the importance of considering the potential for contempt of court even when receiving information from official sources.

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Study Notes

Contempt of Court Defences

  • Prejudice to Active Proceedings Defence: A valid defence is available if potentially prejudicial information was reported, but a valid reason/excuse existed. Police appeals for help are an example.

  • Attorney General Precedent: In 1981, the Attorney General established a precedent allowing reports of police appeals for help in apprehending suspects without fear of prosecution, even if the case was ongoing.

  • Arrest of Wanted Person: The defence of prejudice to active proceedings disappears when someone is arrested, and normal contempt service resumes. Information about the suspect should no longer be included.

  • Innocent Publication Defence (Section 3): A defence where a reporter acted in good faith, covering a news story, but the reporting (in this case about armed robbery) prejudiced active proceedings. The fact that the suspects were arrested after the story's publication, but before the paper hit the streets meant the reporter's publication prejudiced active proceedings.

Contemporary Reports Defence (Section 4)

  • Fair and Accurate Reporting: A defence allowing fair and accurate reporting of a court case held in public, published contemporaneously.

  • "Good Faith" Reporting: The report must be in good faith (not intended to harm active cases)

  • No Court Order Prohibition: Essentially, the court hasn't issued an order forbidding the reporting of information, or the report was published in good faith without knowledge that it was prejudicial.

  • Criteria for Section 4: To establish the defence, the defendant must state allegations, claims, facts mentioned during hearings. Only undisputed information should be stated as fact. Clearly state the pleas made by all sides in the case. Indicate that the trial is ongoing (e.g., adjourned, expected to last multiple weeks).

Public Affairs Discussion Defence (Section 5)

  • Discussion of Public Affairs: A defence for discussing topics of public interest, provided this discussion isn't overly focused on active cases.

  • Merely Incidental Prejudice: If discussing a public interest matter potentially prejudices an active case, but the prejudice is merely incidental, the discussion is likely protected.

  • Examples of Public Interest: Public Interest topics include various crime classifications such as general crime, sexual crimes, juvenile crime, burglaries, and terrorism. However, the topics must not deal with matters that are very specific to an active case.

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Related Documents

Contempt of Court Part 2: Defences PDF

Description

This quiz explores the various defences against contempt of court, including the Prejudice to Active Proceedings Defence and the Innocent Publication Defence. Key historical precedents, such as the 1981 Attorney General ruling, will also be examined. Test your understanding of these legal concepts and their implications.

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