IMPORTANT!! Things you NEED to know- Law

• The highest court in the UK is called the Supreme Court
• The DPP stands for the Directory Public Prosecution that are in charge of highering the lawyers for criminal cases.
• The functions of a crown court are:

1. To hear criminal cases (indictable)
2. Hear appeals
3. Tribunals

• The functions of a magistrates court are:

1. Summary offences (non- indictable)
2. Applications for bail
3. Either way cases

• A criminal offence is against society as a whole such as a murder
• Civil offences are a dispute between 2 people such as divorce
• Prejudice means pre- judging someone with no direct evidence that it was them.
• Contempt means denying someone a fair trial or stopping the trial running smoothly(this can lead to imprisonment)

• We can be certain a case is legally active when someone has been charged, if it is likely there will be a trial it may also mean the case will become active.
• Once an arrest is made we can positively identify the person with an image, their name and age. It must be neutral facts that won't cause contempt.

1. When appearing in front of magistrates we can report their name and age (positive identification) 
2. The charge, 
3. Weather they asked for or were granted bail 
4. The plead

• An either way offence is when the crime could be convicted in either a summary case (magistrates) or go to a crown court. If the magistrates don't think they can sentence the crime enough they will refer it to the crown court. The defendant can also request to go to crown court.
• For a court report to have absolute privilege it needs to be fast, accurate and fair.
• Libel= Defamation, Publication, Identification
• The libel defences are

1. Qualified Privilege- it was said in court so it can be reported
2. Fair comment is your honest opinion based on fact in the public interest without malice
3. Justification is the strongest defence as it states that something is 'true'

• Defamation (damages someones reputation)

1. Causes hatred OR ridicule OR contempt
2. Causes them to be shunned or avoided
3. Reduces them in their profession or causes them not to get a job
4. Lowers them in the mind of right thinking people

• Picture libel is when someones image is associated with a bad headline even if they don't have anything to do with it. 
• Statute law is a law that was enacted in parliament by a Statute.
• You are protected by Qualified privilege when:

1. You are in court
2. You are in parliament
3. You are in foreign court
4. Common law

• The copyright law has been put into place to allow people to show their creative work whilst keeping it protected from people taking it and using it as their own.
• There is still copyright on the Internet!
• Fair dealing means you can legally use someone else's work as long as:

1. It is brief
2. The source must be credited
3. Availability is stated (can buy this on the ..)
4. It is packaged (in a review)

• The PCC (Press Complaints Commission) deals with paper print complaints
• Ofcom deals with broadcast complaints and are also part of the official government body so they can issue fines unlike the PCC.
•  Law of confidence  can be a legal risk to journalists when reporting:

1. State which refers to the military and their activities
2. Confidentiality which are people such as doctors who we believe will keep our records private
3. Privacy refers to celebrities who have a right to a private family life that isn't published

• During general elections journalists need to be careful not to be bias towards a certain party as this may change the way that the public vote.
• Impartiality means you show no opinion. Print media can show opinion and be bias towards one party as people don't have to buy the paper.
• TV and radio aren't allowed to show opinion and during an election have to give each party equal time depending on how popular they were in a previous election.

• The libel case brought about by the former Irish PM Lambert Reynolds was significant for journalists because the Reynolds Ten point test stemmed from it. It also helps journalists to broadcast stories more safely as it take into account how true the information is and weather it is fair and newsworthy.

Other notes to know:

• The Princess Caroline Case- lead to the privacy law that stated you can only take pictures of people when they are 'engaged in a clear public duty'. It also lead to the a ban on wallpaper type pictures that identify people without their consent.
• A breach of confidence is defined as

1. The circumstances (when a reasonable person would think it should be a secret) AND
2. There was no permission given   AND
3. Caused someone damage (e.g. losing their job)