Press and publication restrictions
Notifications OFF
Hi everyone, another post as part of the club I never wanted to be in.
My person was sentenced at magistrates court this week, 12 month suspended sentence, SHPO and a load of other things to comply with by luckily no custodial.
My persons name didn't appear on court serve (we looked on here to find out which court room he was in but it didn't show!) and when we got to the court under this name it said 'press and publication restrictions apply to this case'.
as far as we could see there were no press in the room, or in the court at all for that matter. There was no one outside either which was a bit earie and unexpected. I just wanted to know, even though restrictions apply, does that mean that it will never be published at all? Or can the press get around that?
My person was sentenced at magistrates court this week, 12 month suspended sentence, SHPO and a load of other things to comply with by luckily no custodial.
My persons name didn't appear on court serve (we looked on here to find out which court room he was in but it didn't show!) and when we got to the court under this name it said 'press and publication restrictions apply to this case'.
as far as we could see there were no press in the room, or in the court at all for that matter. There was no one outside either which was a bit earie and unexpected. I just wanted to know, even though restrictions apply, does that mean that it will never be published at all? Or can the press get around that?
I'm glad you've got through sentencing and are now able to focus on recovery.
Sadly the publicity restrictions sound like the restrictions put in place to protect the anonymity of a victim rather than the perpetrator. I really hope that isn't the case for your person but my sons sentencing had similar restrictions and his story hit the media twice.
Sadly the publicity restrictions sound like the restrictions put in place to protect the anonymity of a victim rather than the perpetrator. I really hope that isn't the case for your person but my sons sentencing had similar restrictions and his story hit the media twice.
Hiya, fingers crossed it won't hit the media for you!
can I ask how you managed to get restriction's? Thank you x
can I ask how you managed to get restriction's? Thank you x
Hi, unfortunately just because there were no physical reporters there, they've often there remotely these days. Anything spoken about in court can be reported on. It's not just the reporters who can publish the case. The Police have a press department and if they believe the case is in the public interest, they send all get details to the local Police so they can post it on the local Police's social media.
It would be extremely unusual for there to be reporting restrictions unless your person is a child. There could be restrictions on someone else in the case? If I were you I would keep a close eye on your local Police fb page and your local paper.
It would be extremely unusual for there to be reporting restrictions unless your person is a child. There could be restrictions on someone else in the case? If I were you I would keep a close eye on your local Police fb page and your local paper.
whyhasthishappened
it's extremely difficult to get reporting restrictions. I tried literally in the past week. I was desperate to keep it from being reported. The Judge will only consider restrictions if the person is under 18 or the people who would be affected are under 18. Even if the people who would be affected by reporting are under 18, an application would need to be made to the court detailing why restrictions are needed. In "our" case, the prosecutor said it was pointless asking for restrictions because myself and my son are over 18. He said the Judge wouldn't allow it. However, what I did do was make a Police statement saying why I wanted reporting restrictions. The Judge read that in court and agreed that because the ex's crimes were online only, his address didn't need to be mentioned. This was a huge win for my son and I. If his address was mentioned in court, it can be reported and the Police press department could send all the details to our local Police to publish on the local Police social media, which is what happened to us the first time round. It doesn't mean we're out of the woods completely. The case could still reported, however, it won't be linked to the town I live in and that my ex lived in.
it's extremely difficult to get reporting restrictions. I tried literally in the past week. I was desperate to keep it from being reported. The Judge will only consider restrictions if the person is under 18 or the people who would be affected are under 18. Even if the people who would be affected by reporting are under 18, an application would need to be made to the court detailing why restrictions are needed. In "our" case, the prosecutor said it was pointless asking for restrictions because myself and my son are over 18. He said the Judge wouldn't allow it. However, what I did do was make a Police statement saying why I wanted reporting restrictions. The Judge read that in court and agreed that because the ex's crimes were online only, his address didn't need to be mentioned. This was a huge win for my son and I. If his address was mentioned in court, it can be reported and the Police press department could send all the details to our local Police to publish on the local Police social media, which is what happened to us the first time round. It doesn't mean we're out of the woods completely. The case could still reported, however, it won't be linked to the town I live in and that my ex lived in.
Thanks for your reply bless you! You've had it really rough!
we have applied although my person is very low level and no victim etc so not sure if we will but I have 2 small children one autistic so his solicitor has put forward for a restriction. Plus what he's done is hardly anything so I don't think it warrants negative attention.
we have applied although my person is very low level and no victim etc so not sure if we will but I have 2 small children one autistic so his solicitor has put forward for a restriction. Plus what he's done is hardly anything so I don't think it warrants negative attention.
Thanks all for your replies. My person lives with my grandfather who is 80 and not in good health, we asked the solicitor about these restrictions and they said not worth even asking for, but we also approached a court usher regarding it too on days before the case.
my persons crime is online only, spoke to a decoy pretending to be underage. He didn't ever push to meet the person, and the timeframe was extremely small (one evening). He is a vulnerable person due to his mental health anyway, and was sectioned immediately following the charge.
if he ends up in the paper I'm not sure what we will do, my grandfather is far too old and poorly to move house but we can't let him get abused by people who find out (we live in a very rough area). It feels unfair as the backlash goes to everyone around them, not directly to the perpetrator. How do we survive this!
in terms of in the courtroom, there was only CPS, our solicitor, 3 magistrates, my person and me. No one else entered the room and no one was on laptops. Hoping it doesn't get put anywhere. It's also his first offence, completely clean slate other than that!
my persons crime is online only, spoke to a decoy pretending to be underage. He didn't ever push to meet the person, and the timeframe was extremely small (one evening). He is a vulnerable person due to his mental health anyway, and was sectioned immediately following the charge.
if he ends up in the paper I'm not sure what we will do, my grandfather is far too old and poorly to move house but we can't let him get abused by people who find out (we live in a very rough area). It feels unfair as the backlash goes to everyone around them, not directly to the perpetrator. How do we survive this!
in terms of in the courtroom, there was only CPS, our solicitor, 3 magistrates, my person and me. No one else entered the room and no one was on laptops. Hoping it doesn't get put anywhere. It's also his first offence, completely clean slate other than that!
Hi howwillicope, the vast majority of these crimes don't get reported in the press, but it is unpredictable. Fingers crossed for you and congratulations on it being a non custodial outcome z