In the news lately, we have seen the 'Mikaeel Kular' case unfolding before our eyes. When looking at the news stories from the beginning till the end, it is very interesting to see the difference in the reports and what they can/ cant report. At first on the 16th January 2014, we literally just have the police appeal along with an image of Mikaeel (which can be used as there was a search for him). The police spoke about what had happened in the voice of the mother as she was the person who had reported that he had gone missing. There was a lot of emphasis on times and description of Mikaeel, what he was wearing etc. There was no evidence to expect criminality at this moment in time as the story was new. It was interesting that the police in their appeal used the phrase; 'his mother is distraught' which changed as the reports went on.
On the 19th January, the mother is named and it is announced that the police are questioning her. We hear that she has been charged in connection with his death, and the address of where the body was found is named. As she has been charged there is not a lot else the reporters can say, so instead they 'bulk' their package out with footage of the flowers for him. The report ends with the fact that the mother will appear in court tomorrow which is where a lot more can be reported (qualified privilege).
On the 20th the mother appears in court which means the reporter can inform the audience on what happens and is said in court. However in this instance the case was held in private so it restricted the reporters to what they could say. Instead they got the best footage that they could which was of the van that she was being transported to court in. They bulked the package with images of Mikaeel and explained how the story has transformed. They explained the charges that the mother was facing in court, murder and attempt to defeat justice. As there wasn't a lot else they could show; the reporters decided to get vox pops from mothers that have children who went to Mikaeel's nursery as this information will not be used in courts as it is just people's opinions. This is the key thing for reporters any information or witness accounts can no longer be used once the case is in court because it may be used as evidence.
They then reported the the fact that there was no plea in court and that the mother remains in custody which is the main thing people want to know. There was no mention of facts such as times, clothing, places and events as these are all things that could come up in court and are seen as off limit once someone has been charged. The package doesn't really tell us as an audience all that we want to know but it couldn't as the case was held in private.
As this case is based in Scotland it is important to remember that they have different laws to us. The first hearing usually takes place before a Magistrate and in this example it was at 'The Sheriff' which deals with more serious offences. However it is not the same as a Crown Court as as we know this case was in private which you do not usually see within our law. If you were writing this script for a company in London you would have to check the scripts and even send them to a contact in Edinburgh to make sure everything surrounding their law is correct.
In relation to this case, I saw on Greenslade blog a conversation about a newspaper publishing an article based on Mikaeel's mother. This particular article was clearly forming judgements on his mother as it showed images of her drinking and talked about her lifestyle. There was a discussion on weather this is prejudicial especially to a potential jury who may have made judgement on her based on this article. This paper may have the 'fade factor' in their defence that this women will not be on trial for at least six months so therefore they would expect everyone to have forgotten about this article by then. It was interesting as in the reports on this case, there had been very few images of the mother shown and this article in the paper had clearly taken one from her Facebook or somewhere.
There are 7 points you can talk about when someone appears in court for the first time. These should be:
On the 19th January, the mother is named and it is announced that the police are questioning her. We hear that she has been charged in connection with his death, and the address of where the body was found is named. As she has been charged there is not a lot else the reporters can say, so instead they 'bulk' their package out with footage of the flowers for him. The report ends with the fact that the mother will appear in court tomorrow which is where a lot more can be reported (qualified privilege).
On the 20th the mother appears in court which means the reporter can inform the audience on what happens and is said in court. However in this instance the case was held in private so it restricted the reporters to what they could say. Instead they got the best footage that they could which was of the van that she was being transported to court in. They bulked the package with images of Mikaeel and explained how the story has transformed. They explained the charges that the mother was facing in court, murder and attempt to defeat justice. As there wasn't a lot else they could show; the reporters decided to get vox pops from mothers that have children who went to Mikaeel's nursery as this information will not be used in courts as it is just people's opinions. This is the key thing for reporters any information or witness accounts can no longer be used once the case is in court because it may be used as evidence.
They then reported the the fact that there was no plea in court and that the mother remains in custody which is the main thing people want to know. There was no mention of facts such as times, clothing, places and events as these are all things that could come up in court and are seen as off limit once someone has been charged. The package doesn't really tell us as an audience all that we want to know but it couldn't as the case was held in private.
As this case is based in Scotland it is important to remember that they have different laws to us. The first hearing usually takes place before a Magistrate and in this example it was at 'The Sheriff' which deals with more serious offences. However it is not the same as a Crown Court as as we know this case was in private which you do not usually see within our law. If you were writing this script for a company in London you would have to check the scripts and even send them to a contact in Edinburgh to make sure everything surrounding their law is correct.
In relation to this case, I saw on Greenslade blog a conversation about a newspaper publishing an article based on Mikaeel's mother. This particular article was clearly forming judgements on his mother as it showed images of her drinking and talked about her lifestyle. There was a discussion on weather this is prejudicial especially to a potential jury who may have made judgement on her based on this article. This paper may have the 'fade factor' in their defence that this women will not be on trial for at least six months so therefore they would expect everyone to have forgotten about this article by then. It was interesting as in the reports on this case, there had been very few images of the mother shown and this article in the paper had clearly taken one from her Facebook or somewhere.
There are 7 points you can talk about when someone appears in court for the first time. These should be:
- Name of defendant(s), age, address, occupation
- Charges they face and summary
- Name of court and Magistrates name
- Name of solicitor/ barrister present
- Date/ place where case is adjourned
- Arrangements for bail
- Legal aid granted?
The categories of offence are:
- Summary Offence (drunk and disorderly)
- Indictable (serious referred to Crown Court- 5+ years sentence
- Either Way- can go to Crown or Magistrates
- Summary- Stays at the Magistrate Court
The New Defamation Act
There are less jury's in liable defamation cases now as the cost is too high.
Magistrates powers include: issuing 6 months in jail and up to a £5000 fine, suspended sentences, conditional discharge, community orders/ binding over and asbo's.
The key stages in a trial are:
Selecting the jury
Prosecution Opening (in the Rebecca Brooks phone hacking trial the defence made a statement at the beginning, which must have had consent from the judge).
Defence Opening
Key defence witnesses
Judge summing up
Jury sent out, deliberation and the verdict
Court reporting should be fast, accurate and fair .. or fair accurate and contemporaneous.
There is to be no recording in court however there is the 2011 Lord Chief Justice act that allows there to be tweeting in court and for journalists to even be able to use laptops if needed.
There was the famous case of the 'Daily Mail' where they called the suspect 'Peeping Tom' and The Sun referred to him as 'The Strange Mr Jefferies' which is prejudicial and contempt as they were calling him guilty. When he was found innocent the papers had to pay out a huge sum in compensation. The attorney general, Dominic Grieve will have looked at this case and decided the publications had taken it too far on behalf of the State. Mr Jefferies also won damages for defamatory as it cast a bad shadow over his reputation.
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