Section 8C Mags Court Flashcards
1
Q
What is section 8c of the magistrates court act 1980?
A
- automatically applies to pre-hearing trials at mags court in cases due to have a summary trial.
- it bans media reports from referring to evidential matters aired at pre-trial hearings at mags court so that if the case is later sent to crown court for trial people who later become jurors will not have read/heard about evidence which May not have been presented during the trial.
- can only report 7 categories: name of court and mags names, ages, addresses and occupations of witnesses/defendants, charge, names of solicitors, date/time of adjournment, bail arrangements, whether legal aid was granted.
- also safe to say that reporting restrictions were in force.
- ## mags can lift the restrictions to allow the media to publish fuller reports. If defendant objects mags can only lift them if satisfied it is in the interests of justice.
