Court Reporting

When covering the courts as a journalist, there are two fundamental issues to consider: Prejudice and Contempt.

Prejudice – the publication of material that could potentially prejudice the jury in a case. Prevents the trial being fair.

Contempt – Contempt of court is a criminal offence, set out in the Contempt of Court act 1981. Publishing any information which breaches the rules of court reporting can be considered contempt.

As a criminal case is decided by a jury, it is crucial that the jury is only influenced by what is heard within the court, and not speculative or irresponsible media coverage.

Reporting restrictions for criminal offences come into effect when the case becomes ‘active’. This is when one of the following occurs:

- An arrest is made

- An arrest warrant is issued

- A summons is issued by a magistrate

- Someone is charged with the offence

Once this happens, only very basic information can be published. The case will go to a ‘pre-trial hearing’ at a magistrates court. When this happens, only the following should be reported:

- Name, age, address and occupation of the defendant(s)

- Charges faced or a short summary

- Names of magistrates and the magistrates court

- Names of Solicitors and Barristers present

- Date and location to which the case has been adjourned

- Whether legal aid was granted

- Arrangements of Bail

Once the trial proper begins, court reporting is covered by Qualified Privilege (coming up later), provided the reporting is fair, accurate and contemporaneous. This means, essentially, that anything said in court by either the prosecution or defence can be reported.