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Judge backs down after reporter's challenge

A Leicester Mercury reporter has successfully challenged a judge who threw him out of a nuisance neighbour court hearing.

District Judge Richard Merriman told Mercury reporter Tom Pegden to leave the court about 25 minutes into the case at Leicester County Court.

The civil case was brought by the city council’s anti-social behaviour unit, which had applied to for possession of a council flat rented by a nuisance neighbour who had made life a misery for families living next door with his late night arguments and blaring music.

When the judge realised a reporter was in court he told him the case was being heard in private – comparing it to a rent arrears possession hearing, and banned him from the hearing.

Tom, (pictured), left the court but, after checking with McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists and the Mercury’s own lawyers, asked the judge to reconsider. Court was adjourned for five minutes, and then District Judge Merriman returned and admitted he had been wrong.

Tom had been ready to argue that getting the story in the paper was in the public interest and affected a lot of people, but the judge realised his error before that was necessary.

Tom said afterwards: “It was irritating being asked to stand up and explain who I was and then being told leave a court which I knew I had every right to be in.

“The case involved someone who had been a public nuisance for two years, which made me even more determined to talk my way back in.

“As soon as I left the room I checked McNae’s, which said property possessions for mortgage and rent arrears were held in chambers, but said nothing about cases like this.

“I went to the court press room and rang the Mercury lawyers. They agreed that there was no reason why a case like this should be held behind closed doors.

“Because it was in chambers I had to get the clerk to ring the courtroom and ask if I could go back in again. I was given a chance to approach the judge and tell him I was unhappy with his ruling and he adjourned the case. Five minutes later he came back, said he had checked the law, and said I could stay.

“It was a relief, because it saved me having to argue the toss with him and face the possibility of chasing the whole story from outside the courtroom.

“I’ve covered loads of ASB cases in county court before and never had a problem, other than an invalid section 39 order. I got that overturned as well.”

Mercury editor Nick Carter said: “This is a classic example of a reporter standing their ground in the public interest and forcing a judge to reconsider. Tom did exactly the right thing.”

The judge eventually ruled the council could take possession of the nuisance neighbour’s flat, and the story made page three of the next day’s paper.

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