« NZLS media law seminar | Main | Case exposes vulnerable underbelly of contempt laws »
Crimes in the public interest
By Steven | February 14, 2008
A quick note on recent stouch about the journalist who took a knife and toy gun on a regional flight to demonstrate lax security. (Bonus gossip: it was Jonathan Marshall, who was behind a hideously intrusive celebrity expose website, but has since taken a journalism course and is doing serious work).
I say: give that man a badge.
There are times when journalists commit crimes in the public interest. This, I think, was one. (Other journalists have done the same thing in Britain). I also think it’s in the public interest for journalists to occasionally try to obtain passports and credit cards using fake names to expose how easily it can be done, or likewise gather personal data about people or hack important websites. The receipt of leaks of stolen documents or tapes can also raise criminal issues. Journalists have no special defence if they are prosecuted for these crimes.
Usually, as it happens, they are not prosecuted. Under the prosecution guidelines, the public interest is a factor in deciding whether to charge. And any sentence would probably be adjusted down. But that’s an uneasy truce.
Sure, it’s difficult for the law to carve out exceptions to the criminal law for journalists. And sure, if the law did so, there would be journalists who would abuse their special rights. So the truce may be as good as it gets. But under the incentives of the law, it would be prudent for journalists not to take these sorts of risks, even though such stories are very valuable to society. I wonder whether the development of some sort of public interest defence may be needed – or even required under the Bill of Rights Act?
Topics: Journalism and criminal law | 55 Comments »
55 Responses to “Crimes in the public interest”
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
February 15th, 2008 at 6:58 am
I thought the incident was ridiculous – he knew (or should have known) before he took the flight that nothing was checked. What does he want – to spend hours for every flight? He will want people with red flags walking in front of motor vehicles soon.
February 15th, 2008 at 10:03 am
There is no logic in the suggestion that the “stouch” (sic) over a reporter carrying weapons on to an aircraft was “a crime committed in the public interest”. It’s widely known that neither baggage nor individuals are subjected to security checks on internal flights. The “story” was simply a cheap beat-up. If you want to give the reporter a medal may I suggest the Weekly Shock! Horror! Probe! Award for Piffle in a Sunday newspaper?
February 15th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Fair points. Maybe my other examples are better.
I did think of noting the argument that we’d just had a graphic demonstration of the absence of security checks in the form of a real crisis, so maybe the story wasn’t quite as significant. But then I thought, well, two days after that incident, right at the time when you’d think airports would be more on guard, Marshall was still able to get those weapons on board.
I seem to recall Fair Go getting a false passport, even after a number of stories showing that it was happening. I thought it was a terrific story. But perhaps Mr Mitson thinks it was a cheap beat-up?
February 15th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Actually Steven, they tried and failed. But apparently the public doesn’t remember the details of that story very well. Which rather illustrates Christopher’s point well – this sort of thing contributes rather well to a media beatup, but not so well to reasoned policy formulation.
I would say this though, to Graeme, Steven and any other person who advocates wilfully comitting crimes in the hope of, in essence, ‘destruct testing’ law enforcement mechanicsms – if this sort of activity is so productive and worthy, why shouldn’t everybody be allowed to do it, not just journalists?
February 15th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
My mistake. Fair Go applied for a driver’s licence to show how easily identity fraud could be committed. They succeeded. (They actually got permission from Des Britten to do it using false documents written out in his name). In the process, though, they committed a crime.
February 15th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Nice try, Steven, but no cigar (unless one is on offer for red herrings or sophistry!). The fake passport story didn’t happen during my tenure as editor of Fair Go so I have no precise knowledge. But I would assume the story was linked to the Government’s assertions about beefed-up security measures, etc. etc. which nabbed the two Israeli secret agents. In which case, the story was clearly very much a major matter of public interest.
My comment was not a reflection on the occasional need to break the law for a greater good (shall we start with Martin Luther King or go back to Martin Luther?) but a harrumph of outrage that the pathetic and utterly unoriginal story about non-security on internal flights should be thought to be journalistically commendable. It was tosh. Utter tosh.
Should there be some special defence for journalists in genuine issues of law-breaking in the public interest? Absolutely not.
For two reasons: firstly in such cases, there is discretion to prosecute. Secondly, what real journo wouldn’t love to have a case like that on his or her CV ? Nearly as good as being jailed on contempt charges for refusing to reveal sources! Sadly, not many of us achieve such fabulous martyrdom to fuel our self-righteous pride.
June 26th, 2020 at 5:01 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Info to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
July 23rd, 2020 at 4:21 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
August 19th, 2020 at 7:03 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Info on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
August 23rd, 2020 at 6:26 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More here to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
August 31st, 2020 at 4:55 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
September 2nd, 2020 at 6:40 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Here you will find 12919 more Info to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
September 2nd, 2020 at 9:31 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
September 3rd, 2020 at 6:34 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Info on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
September 23rd, 2020 at 9:21 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
September 23rd, 2020 at 2:37 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
September 27th, 2020 at 4:41 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] There you will find 73290 more Information to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
October 4th, 2020 at 8:22 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More Info here to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
October 13th, 2020 at 7:44 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More on to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
October 20th, 2020 at 11:19 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More on to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:13 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
November 5th, 2020 at 4:33 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Information on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
November 7th, 2020 at 2:55 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Info on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
December 22nd, 2020 at 3:27 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Information on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
December 23rd, 2020 at 1:31 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
December 23rd, 2020 at 2:41 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Here you will find 21903 more Info on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
February 28th, 2021 at 2:05 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
March 15th, 2021 at 6:04 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
March 17th, 2021 at 11:49 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More on on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
March 20th, 2021 at 7:33 am
… [Trackback]
[…] There you can find 86759 additional Information on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
April 1st, 2021 at 7:16 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Here you will find 33907 more Info to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
April 25th, 2021 at 4:34 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Info to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
May 29th, 2021 at 11:58 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More Info here to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
June 5th, 2021 at 1:49 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More on to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
June 26th, 2021 at 7:45 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More here on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
June 27th, 2021 at 12:52 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More Information here to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
June 28th, 2021 at 2:49 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More here on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
June 28th, 2021 at 6:16 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
August 23rd, 2021 at 6:14 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More Info here to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
October 8th, 2021 at 10:01 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Here you will find 63214 additional Info on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
October 18th, 2021 at 10:41 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Info on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
November 3rd, 2021 at 1:29 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
November 10th, 2021 at 2:00 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More on to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
November 13th, 2021 at 1:29 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More Information here to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
January 9th, 2022 at 1:41 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Here you can find 22311 additional Info on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
March 15th, 2022 at 12:33 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Info to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
April 6th, 2022 at 12:19 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Info on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
May 2nd, 2022 at 12:02 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Find More to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
May 20th, 2022 at 9:54 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Here you can find 6667 more Info on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
June 26th, 2022 at 3:52 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Here you will find 60832 additional Information on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
July 5th, 2022 at 8:16 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] There you will find 55969 additional Info on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
July 7th, 2022 at 11:34 am
… [Trackback]
[…] Read More on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
July 15th, 2022 at 12:39 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] There you can find 30448 more Info on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
July 15th, 2022 at 9:25 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Info on that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]
July 19th, 2022 at 12:38 pm
… [Trackback]
[…] Here you will find 8877 more Information to that Topic: medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=60 […]