Contempt of Court
« Previous Entries Next Entries »Harvey’s online gag
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008Sounds like a prank website, doesn’t it? Of course, I mean Judge Harvey’s recent order that non-internet media can report on the proceedings against the accused killers of John Hapeta. Still, some people have been wondering: is this a joke? Isn’t trying to put a lid on the internet rather like trying to bottle a […]
Unprejudiced
Monday, August 25th, 2008Some defence lawyers have been getting their knickers in a knot about reporting on the Veitch case in yesterday’s Sunday Star-Times and Herald on Sunday. Can’t say I share their concerns. Certainly, now that charges have been laid, publishing material that tends to create a real risk of prejudice to Veitch’s trial will be a contempt […]
Feeling sorry for Vince?
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008Poor Vincent Siemer. Facing a limitless stretch in the slammer for … what? A couple of websites? Oath. I’m afraid I find it difficult to get too worked up about Vince’s plight. He’d like to pitch his troubles as a freedom of expression battle against a corrupt businessman (his nemesis, Michael Stiassny), and corrupt lawyers (including his own), and […]
No Sentence or Sensibility
Thursday, June 5th, 2008I’m not sure the implications of this extraordinary Dominion Post story have been explored quite enough: The practice of offering rewards in murder cases is under review after the defence in the Foreman trial used the proposed payout to undermine the Crown’s star witness. The Sensible Sentencing Trust was set to pay $50,000 to Donna Kingi […]
Free speech log
Monday, May 12th, 2008Some upcoming free speech cases: Electoral Finance Act judicial review: strike-out application to be heard on 15 May. Applicants John Boscawen, Garth McVicar, Rodney Hide, and Graham Stairmand now want the court to rule that the Attorney-General should have advised Parliament that the Electoral Finance Bill was inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act, and […]
Website in contempt?
Sunday, March 9th, 2008Today’s Sunday Star-Times has a story about a website set up by the daughter of a Zimbabwean immigrant accused of sexually violating killing his niece. The website contains detailed commentary about the life of the family and the events surrounding the death. The niece was HIV positive, but the Crown’s case is that this did not […]
Case exposes vulnerable underbelly of contempt laws
Friday, February 15th, 2008An Australian judge has banned the broadcast of a TV series about the mafia in Victoria (it can be broadcast elsewhere in Australia) because it may prejudice upcoming mafia trials. Of course, people have recorded it and put it online, and now anyone in Victoria who wants to is downloading and watching it. Some media may […]
Tribute to John Burrows
Thursday, February 7th, 2008The University of Canterbury’s law school held a conference in honour of John Burrows last weekend. It was called “Law, Liberty and Legislation” and covered the broad sweep of issues that Professor Burrows has expertise in – from statute and contract law to media law (he’s written the leading texts in all three). On the […]
Handy info for Contempt lawsuits
Monday, January 21st, 2008Today’s DomPost has some useful information for those advising the media on contempt of Court issues. The average length of time between committal and trial, in the District Court and the High Court, is just under a year. Add to that an average of six to nine months between arrest and committal, and you’ve got […]
Solicitor-General to prosecute Fairfax for contempt
Friday, December 21st, 2007The DomPost is reporting that the papers that ran the “terrorism files” story are to be prosecuted for contempt. The S-G has also set his sights on DomPost editor Tim Pankhurst, but not the editors of the Press or the Waikato Times. The essence of the allegation is that the stories will interfere with the […]
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