Part 7 - Open justice (and exceptions), rights to information from courts and to case material Flashcards
What is expressed in Scott v Scott?
That the fundamental rule/principle in common law is that court proceedings are in most circumstances open to the public and media.
What does Attorney General v Leveller Magazine Ltd state about the principle of open justice?
Departure from the principle is only justified if the administration of justice would otherwise be ‘frustrated or rendered impracticable’.
What are the general, societal benefits of open justice?
- It promotes public confidence in and respect for the administration of justice in all types of proceedings, civil or criminal; deters inappropriate behaviour on the part of the court; and opens to scrutiny the process of justice
- it enables society to judge the quality of justice administered in its name and whether the law needs modification
- it allows the public to scrutinise the processes by which criminal cases are investigated and brought to trial
- full, contemporaneous reporting of criminal trials in progress promotes the values of the rule of law
- it puts pressure on witnesses to tell the truth
- it can result in evidence becoming available which would not become available if the proceedings were conducted behind closed doors or with one or more of the parties’ or witnesses’ identity concealed
- publicity about criminal trials, including convictions, and the identities of defendants, is a deterrent to anyone considering committing crime
- it reduces the likelihood of uninformed, inaccurate comment and rumour about the proceedings, including what is said in them
- it enables the exposure of ‘matters of public interest worthy of discussion other than the judicial task of doing justice between the parties in the particular case’
What are the common law exceptions to the open justice principle?
Departing from the open justice rule by excluding journalists and the public from a court case or part of it is only justified in common law:
- when their presence would frustrate the process of justice
- when unchecked publicity would defeat the object of the proceedings
- when the court is exercising a parental role to protect the interests of vulnerable people
What is the meaning of the term ‘in private’ as regards a court hearing?
It usually encompasses both the term ‘in camera’ and ‘in chambers’.
In camera: when the public and the media are excluded from all or part of the main hearing in a case. The hearing is effectively being held in secret.
In chambers: when a hearing, usually a preliminary one in a case, is held in the judge’s chambers or another room rather than a formal courtroom and is not in public.
How does the Magistrates’ Court Act 1980 uphold the open justice principle?
Section 121 states that magistrates must sit in open court when trying a case unless there is a statutory exception to this requirement, and must also sit in open court when considering jailing someone, unless there is a statutory exception to this requirement.
What does the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 state about attendance at youth court cases?
Section 47 states that the public cannot attend, but ‘bona fide’ reporters can.
Where are cases heard if they are dealt with in the single justice procedure?
They are heard in private and in the absence of the defendant.
What are cases heard in the single justice procedure?
Those which are summary and for which the penalty cannot be a jail term, and in which the defendant is 18 or older, and has pleaded guilty by correspondence and not objected to the case being dealt with in the SJP, or has not responded to the notice of prosecution.
What are some examples of offences dealt with in the SJP?
- speeding
- driving without insurance
- TV license evasion
- train fare evasion
What does Criminal Practice Direction I state about making notes in court?
The default position in criminal courts is that anyone (and therefore any journalist) can make notes of a hearing on paper or by ‘silent electronic means’ including in the public gallery, unless the court specifically bans this because it could interfere with the administration of justice.
List some grounds of banning notetaking in court.
There is suspicion that it is being done to intimidate a witness or to enable dishonest witnesses to collude on evidential detail, but neither ground is likely to apply to a journalist.
Which ruling can be cited if a journalist is forbidden to take notes in any civil court or inquest?
Ewing v Cardiff and Newport Crown Court, even though the ruling concerned a Crown court case.
What does case law state on the right to know the names of magistrates?
Case law says a court must give the media and public the names of magistrates. Lord Justice Watkins said in the High Court: ‘There is, in my view, no such person known to the law as the anonymous JP.’
What does rule 5.8 of the Criminal Procedure Rules state about what information about criminal cases should be normally supplied?
Anyone, including journalists, should normally be supplied by the court officer with the following information about any criminal case at a magistrates’ court, or Crown court which is ongoing or in which the verdict was not more than six months ago:
- the date of any public hearing in the case
- each alleged offence (charge)
- any plea entered
- the court’s decision at any public hearing, including about bail or the sending of the case to another court
- whether the case is under appeal
- the outcome of any trial and of any appeal
- and ‘identities’ of the prosecutor, the defendant, the lawyers, the lawyers’ addresses, and the identities of the judge or magistrate(s)
When supplied with information about criminal cases, what should the defendant’s ‘identity’ be construed to mean?
It should include age and address as well as name, as official guidance to court staff makes clear.
When asking for information about a court case, how can the request be made?
The request for these details may be made orally and no reason for the request need to be stated, and the guidance makes clear the request can be by phone.
When asking for information about a court case, what details must a court officer also supply, according to the Criminal Procedure Rules?
Details of any reporting or access restriction ordered by the court.
What requests for court information must normally be in writing and what other requirement is there?
Request for any other information other than that which must be supplied, or for copies of case material referred to in the public proceedings of any case, must normally be in writing and must explain why the information is required. The court will decide whether such information and/or material will be supplied.
In written requests for case material, which judgement should journalists cite?
Cape Intermediate Holdings and Guardian News and Media judgements, making clear why such access to and publication of the material would advance the open justice principle.
When are there special arrangements when requesting case material in which the journalist does not have to give a reason for the application as regards recent cases?
In respect of applications by accredited journalists for certain types of case material in SJP cases.
What must a journalist normally be supplied with regarding cases dealt with in the SJP?
Under rule 5.8, by means of arrangements in a protocol approved by the Lord Chancellor, an accredited journalist must normally be supplied, on request, with copies of some types of material from any case being dealt with in the single justice procedure or which has been dealt with in the SJP within the previous six months.
What sort of information must a magistrates’ court normally supply as regards cases under the SJP?
The types of material which under the protocol the court officer at a magistrates’ court must normally supply, in response to such a request, and in addition to the basic information specified in rule 5.8 are a copy of the prosecution ‘statement of facts, or if there is no such statement, a copy of each witness statement, and of ‘any defence representations made in mitigation’.
Under protocol how would requests for material from SJP cases be made?
Under the protocol the request would normally be made by phone or email to the regional Court and Tribunal Centre run by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service rather than to the court.
