tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6110794854146484721.post3438449394036616192..comments2024-03-27T09:03:22.289+00:00Comments on Law and Lawyers: Should suspects be named in the media ... and other mattersObiterJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04544226917595022902noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6110794854146484721.post-55179558315299439532011-02-03T10:44:43.184+00:002011-02-03T10:44:43.184+00:00so presumably the Bill would allow the old routine...so presumably the Bill would allow the old routine of "the police have arrested a 57 year old man", but would prevent news outlets from naming the individual?Bagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11011167883405534849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6110794854146484721.post-66260734177541914162011-02-01T19:11:35.847+00:002011-02-01T19:11:35.847+00:00Further on the Anonymity Bill - it seeks to preven...Further on the Anonymity Bill - it seeks to prevent the publication of the name, address and picture of a person arrested. The Bill provides for certain exceptions - e.g. where publication might assist the investigation - but only where a Crown Court Judge allows the exception.ObiterJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04544226917595022902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6110794854146484721.post-59779948543839879852011-02-01T17:31:19.043+00:002011-02-01T17:31:19.043+00:00It is not clear whether Mr Jefferies remains on ba...It is not clear whether Mr Jefferies remains on bail. Now that they have charged Vincent Tabak - (who did not apply for bail in the Crown Court) - public interest in Jefferies seems to have evaporated. In my view the Police ought to let the public know just what the position is re Mr Jefferies.<br /><br />This is one reason why I am tending to dislike this anonymity bill. Once that is in force we would get to know nothing at all about people like Mr Jefferies and we would not be in a position to even raise the question whether or not he remains on bail and, if so, why.<br /><br />I agree with Anonymous that the bill - (link provided in the post) - does not remove any other PACE rights of suspects - e.g. the right to have someone informed when arrested (PACE s.56) and access to legal advice (s.58) etc.<br /><br />The problem here is the reporting which, quite frankly vilified Mr Jefferies and may well have amounted to contempt of court. I am of the view that the Attorney ought to have brought proceedings. Perhaps (I don't know) he thought that the media had remained with the bounds of permissibility. If that is right then the better solution would be, I submit, to amend the Contempt of Court Act 1981 rather than take yet another step toward secret criminal process.ObiterJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04544226917595022902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6110794854146484721.post-48482080967451667792011-02-01T14:08:51.209+00:002011-02-01T14:08:51.209+00:00Interesting comment from RogerBW, but expressed in...Interesting comment from RogerBW, but expressed in somewhat melodramatic terms. AS I understand it, and I do not know what is in the Bill as yet, an arrested person will not be held incommunicado, they will retain all of their present rights - including those under PACE. What will be lost is the right of the press to ruin an innocent man's life by rampant innuendo, fueled by police information passed to favoured journalists for a few pounds on the QT. To safeguard against 'vanishing', the right to anonymity should be renouncable by the accused. Incidentally, the Christopher Jefferies case is the amongst the most egregious such cases, but is by no means the only one. Furthermore, this Bill will raise further questions about the invidious position of those accused of rape, whose accuser has the benefit of anonymity even through a trial.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6110794854146484721.post-9161852731363647812011-02-01T13:57:58.161+00:002011-02-01T13:57:58.161+00:00Is Chris Jefferies still on police bail? I've ...Is Chris Jefferies still on police bail? I've seen no press reports about it, and there's nothing on the Bristol police website.Conornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6110794854146484721.post-79803900807333479532011-01-31T16:10:13.184+00:002011-01-31T16:10:13.184+00:00I think that I prefer the system as it is with the...I think that I prefer the system as it is with the media able to report. The Attorney needs to be more robust in taking irresponsible reporting to task. I dislike cloaks of secrecy however "well-intentioned." Now that this Bill seems to be getting some support from politicians with greater "clout" it might stand a better chance of becoming law.ObiterJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04544226917595022902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6110794854146484721.post-59886498894735969762011-01-31T12:28:48.837+00:002011-01-31T12:28:48.837+00:00Which would you rather: that your friend suddenly ...Which would you rather: that your friend suddenly vanishes without explanation, or that you know he's been arrested, so that if he doesn't reappear reasonably soon you can start things moving to help him?<br /><br />The problem is the reporters, not police openness.RogerBWnoreply@blogger.com