W201 eTMA 03 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

W201 eTMA 03 - Essay Example awaiting trial, hence the matter is sub judice and publication of materials such as newspapers that have wide access to members of the public could compromise the course of justice, especially if the judges or jury also happen to read the article when the matter is yet to be decided. In this connection, Section 2(2) of the Contempt of Court Act of 1981 states as follows: where any publication creates a substantial risk that the course of justice in the proceedings in question will be seriously impeded or prejudiced, contempt of court will be found1. There are three separate elements that must be established before the issue of contempt of court arises. Firstly, there must be a publication, secondly this publication must be related to the court proceedings which are taking place and lastly, the nature of the publication must be such that it could seriously impede the course of justice through prejudice. The above mentioned article in the Grayton Gazette appears to substantiate all of the above. Firstly, it is a publication, i.e, an article in the local newspaper. Secondly, it is related to the court proceedings because Billy is awaiting trial in connection with the events of 15th April and the antics of Street Clear and the article is specifically about Billy and his earlier activities with Street Clear. This article also fulfils the third criterion because it does seriously prejudice the case, because it mentions that Billy has been involved in fights before – he has been involved in demonstrations which have turned nasty because he looks for trouble. Moreover the article specifically states: â€Å"let’s hope the jury sees sense†, which directly creates a substantial risk of serious prejudice, because being a news article, it is quite likely to come to the attention of a potential jury member and the timing of publication of the article coincides almost exactly with the trial procedures. On this basis, it appears that there would be excellent grounds for