Australia: “A Supreme Court judge has called for the internet to be purged of any material likely to prejudice a trial, to prevent jurors conducting their own investigations into cases they are sitting on. Justice Virginia Bell, of the [New South Wales] Supreme Court, told a conference in Darwin of Supreme and Federal court judges from across the country yesterday that the ready availability of archived press reports on the internet could jeopardise the trial of an accused person.” She recommended that prosecutors “carry out searches on the internet and, in the event that prejudicial material is identified … request any Australian-based website to remove it until the trial is completed”. The secretary of a journalists’ organization called her proposal “silly and unworkable”. (Kevin Meade and Cath Hart, “Judge demands trial web blackout”, The Australian, Jan. 26).
Oz judge: let’s purge the web
Australia: “A Supreme Court judge has called for the internet to be purged of any material likely to prejudice a trial, to prevent jurors conducting their own investigations into cases they are sitting on. Justice Virginia Bell, of the [New South Wales] Supreme Court, told a conference in Darwin of Supreme and Federal court judges […]
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