Famous for 24 hours; Will My Name Appear in Newspapers?
Not everybody wants to be famous for 24 hours. But if you are over 17 years of age and accused of an offence, you may well find yourself in the newspapers or online. These days, press reporting via social media can happen very quickly and it is often one of the things not thought about by those facing criminal proceedings.
Youth Court
There are some restrictions though. Anyone aged 17 or under will generally first appear in the Youth Court. There are strict rules that prevent the publication of the name, address, school or any other matter likely to identify a person under 18 who is a victim, witness or defendant in a youth court. This restriction can be lifted in certain circumstances, usually only for very serious offences; we can advise you and oppose any such application on your behalf if appropriate. If a youth appears in an adult court the prosecutor will apply for an order to prevent the naming of a youth. In civil proceedings, such as for an anti-social behaviour injunction, reporting restrictions do not apply.
Anonymity
There is an automatic reporting restriction that prevents the identification of any teacher who is alleged by a pupil at the same school to have committed a criminal offence against the pupil. This restriction ends when the teacher is charged or summonsed to court and can be varied or lifted.
Victims of sexual and a limited number of other offences have lifetime anonymity.
Reports of certain hearings at court may only include the name of the defendant and the offences he faces. This includes allocation and sending hearings in the Magistrates’ Court, preparatory and pre-trial hearings in the Crown Court. Once a trial is underway, you can expect to see reports of the entire proceedings, unless a Judge orders otherwise.
Discretionary reporting restrictions
Although an application may be made to restrict reporting of a defendant’s name any discretion has to be considered with care, such restrictions are not common.
An example of where an application may be appropriate is for a defendant who is in the witness protection programme (used recently in relation to John Venables, the killer of James Bulger).
For proceedings that are not in the youth court, there is a discretion to impose reporting restrictions in respect of a victim, witness or defendant under the age of 18. The court would need to be satisfied that the welfare of the child outweighed the strong public interest in open justice. There is a similar discretion for adult witnesses if their evidence would suffer if they were named as a witness.
Will the press be in Court?
Members of the press can sit in on hearings in any court, including the youth court, unless they are specifically excluded, but this would only be in rare and particular circumstances.
The general principle is that justice should be open and administered in public. Even if the press is not present, this does not mean that your case will not be reported.
Local reporters sell stories to other newspapers, so do not assume that just because you appear before a court away from where you live, your own local press will not be aware of it.
How we can assist
The law in respect of reporting restrictions is complicated, and breach of a restriction is a criminal offence for individuals as well as members of the press. This article is intended to give only a very brief overview of the issues involved.
Press reporting is one of the issues that you need to consider early on in the criminal process, particularly if your case is likely to attract publicity.
You will need to consider the effect that the proceedings may have on others, particularly children, and how you might deal with that.
If you have any concerns or simply to discuss any aspect of your case, please contact John Howey on 02073881658 or jhowey@jfhlaw.co.uk
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What happens when your client is wanted on a European Arrest Warrant?
If you are contacted by a client who suspects that there is a European Arrest Warrant issued for their arrest, that person can contact the National Crime Agency to confirm this and arrange a surrender to their local police station. If a client knows that there is a European Arrest Warrant in their name (or a warrant from a Part II country outside the EU) it is often advisable for that person to surrender to their local police station or to Westminster Magistrates Court, as this will greatly increase their chances of being granted bail later on.
Practical steps that clients can take to help themselves
If their passport or ID card has not been seized, they should try to have it brought to the police station. It will need to be surrendered if the client is to be granted bail, and only if the police can confirm they have it; it will save time later on. Steps should be taken to put a security in place. In extradition proceedings, it is incredibly rare for someone to be granted bail without a security being paid into Westminster Magistrates (a surety usually isn’t sufficient, either).
Following arrest, the client must be taken to Westminster Magistrates’ Court “as soon as practicable”. In practice that means the same day if they are arrested very early in the morning, or they live near London. If not, it is likely to be the next day. Westminster is the only Magistrates Court in the country that deals with extradition cases. There have been occasions when a client has been charged with an offence in this country, remanded to appear at their local magistrate’s court and only after they have appeared there are they brought to Westminster. That is not ‘as soon as practicable’; they have to be brought to Westminster first. If they are not, then the extradition proceedings are likely to be discharged. If they also face criminal proceedings in this country, the extradition case will then be put on hold until the criminal case has finished.
At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, a copy of the warrant, arrest statement and PNC will be provided by the Crown Prosecution Service. The arrest statement should state when your client has been arrested and when he or she was given a copy of the warrant. The District Judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court will have to be satisfied that your client is the person identified in the warrant, and that he has been taken to court and provided with a copy of the warrant as soon as practicable. If the Judge is satisfied with these preliminary issues, then consent to extradition will be put to your client.
If your client wishes to consent to the request for their extradition, then this has to be given in writing. The legal advisor will prepare this form for your client to sign. If your client wants to resist extradition, then the issues or bars to extradition will need to be identified. The Judge will then conduct a case management and set a date for the full hearing.
A bail application will then be heard. This application can be heard regardless of whether your client consents to extradition or not. There is a presumption in favour of bail if your client is wanted for trial (known as an “accusation warrant”). There is no presumption in favour of bail if your client is wanted to serve a sentence (known as a “conviction warrant”). However, most Judges will be minded to grant conditional bail so long as a substantial security is available.
The Judge will most likely make a direction that legal aid is applied for within 7 days. All persons arrested in extradition proceedings will pass the ‘merits’ test. They are subjected to the same ‘means’ test that is carried out when you apply for legal aid in the Magistrates’ Court.
If you would like assistance with an extradition case please contact John Howey on 0207 388 1658, or email him on jfhowey@jfhlaw.co.uk.
John Howey, Senior Solicitor
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