Dotty Patyra is the widow of Jan Patyra. He was a Polish Prisoner of War and one of the first Polish immigrants to come to the UK. Dotty recalls the day she met her husband, their wedding day and how, despite her British nationality, the couple both being branded as immigrants was a label that came with prejudice. This is her story, the story of Dotty Patyra.
prejudice
Reporting crime
Sources of law
Common law is law based on the custom of the realm and the decisions of judges through centuries rather than on an Act of Parliament.
Precedent/case law is similar to common law but based on the cases themselves for future rulings.
Statute law is based on Acts of Parliament.
There is also international law. Think Amal Clooney who is a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, her clients include Julian Assange. Another name to remember in international law is Geoffrey Robertson – a human rights barrister, academic, author and broadcaster. He is a founder and joint head of Doughty Street Chambers.
When a case is legally active, a reporter’s alarm bells should start ringing; this is when reporting crime is dangerous.
Section 8C reporting restrictions automatically apply for cases at magistrates courts in which the defendant pleads not guilty.
Prejudice is the legal material/matter/body of facts that could affect the course of a fair trial. This is material that could impact jurors, such as previous offences. Contempt is the offence that follows on from publishing such prejudicial material.
Journalists need to be aware of swaying the jurors’ opinion by publishing information that may show the accused as a bad character or by vilifying their personality. It is essential that the jury decides on a verdict only by the evidence that they have heard in court, to reach a verdict beyond reasonable doubt.
Reporters should go to the editor/lawyer if they’re not sure about publishing content that could be a crime of contempt.
Journalists may have the defence known as the fade factor. If a trial was to take place six months later, potentially the information would fade from the press over time.
Court reports must be fair, accurate and contemporaneous.
Questioning/detaining times:
Police have 24 hours to question
Senior officer can extend by 12 hours
Magistrates can extend to 36 hours
Cannot exceed 96 hours
Terror suspect is 28 days
Journalists have been able to tweet and post material in court since 2011 but cameras or microphones are forbidden.
Example case: Paul Kohler
- when the case was active and the accused had not been sentenced – very little of the case was reported
- facts of the crime were reported but nothing was said of the accused until now
- interview with the victim after the burglary was very carefully used so not to prejudice jury/trial
- interview with the victim after the trial is fine because he is no longer a key witness in the trial
- the convicted have been positively identified with mugshots in sentenced article
- judge’s comments in court used to add quotes to the story
- describing the courtroom and facial expressions
- can report previous convictions now sentencing has been completed
Reporters should be careful of Ched Evans; with new evidence there is the potential for further trials and juries.
As soon as arrests are made on this case there will be legal dangers.
megrosefisher 