Attorney general argues pictures of murder trial defendant 'posing with a gun' created risk of prejudice in court case.
The attorney general today accused the Daily Mail and Sun of contempt of court over photographs published online showing a murder trial defendant "posing with a gun".
In what are believed to be the first cases of their kind relating to the internet, Dominic Grieve is asking the high court to punish the publishers of the Daily Mail and the Sun for displaying the pictures on their websites.
The cases arise out of the Sheffield crown court trial in 2009 of Ryan Ward, who was eventually convicted of murdering car mechanic Craig Wass by hitting him over the head with a brick.
Judge Michael Murphy QC, who presided at the trial, refused to discharge the jury after saying he was "quite satisfied" none had been influenced by the net.
However, today a QC for the attorney general argued publication of the pictures nevertheless created a substantial risk that the trial could have been "seriously impeded or prejudiced" by jurors seeing them.
Andrew McCullough QC said both newspapers had breached the strict liability rule under the 1981 Contempt of Court Act, which makes it clear that publishing an article or picture may be contempt, even though there is no actual "intent" to interfere with the course of justice.
Both newspapers argued there was no strict liability breach, and the risk of prejudice was "insubstantial", particularly as the trial judge had repeatedly warned jurors not to consult the internet.
High court judges Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Owen, sitting in London, reserved judgment after a day-long hearing and will give their decision in the near future.
They are expected to use today's proceedings to lay down guidelines on how the law of contempt should be applied in online cases.
The attorney general today accused the Daily Mail and Sun of contempt of court over photographs published online showing a murder trial defendant "posing with a gun".
In what are believed to be the first cases of their kind relating to the internet, Dominic Grieve is asking the high court to punish the publishers of the Daily Mail and the Sun for displaying the pictures on their websites.
The cases arise out of the Sheffield crown court trial in 2009 of Ryan Ward, who was eventually convicted of murdering car mechanic Craig Wass by hitting him over the head with a brick.
Judge Michael Murphy QC, who presided at the trial, refused to discharge the jury after saying he was "quite satisfied" none had been influenced by the net.
However, today a QC for the attorney general argued publication of the pictures nevertheless created a substantial risk that the trial could have been "seriously impeded or prejudiced" by jurors seeing them.
Andrew McCullough QC said both newspapers had breached the strict liability rule under the 1981 Contempt of Court Act, which makes it clear that publishing an article or picture may be contempt, even though there is no actual "intent" to interfere with the course of justice.
Both newspapers argued there was no strict liability breach, and the risk of prejudice was "insubstantial", particularly as the trial judge had repeatedly warned jurors not to consult the internet.
High court judges Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Owen, sitting in London, reserved judgment after a day-long hearing and will give their decision in the near future.
They are expected to use today's proceedings to lay down guidelines on how the law of contempt should be applied in online cases.
No comments:
Post a Comment