A former regional press journalist who now teaches media law has put theory into practice after winning the right to overturn a section 39 order on a teenage murderer.

David Crossland, a tutor on the post-graduate journalism courses at Trinity and All Saints College in Leeds, convinced a judge to lift the banning order on the 17-year-old after submitting a letter to the court.

Judge James Stewart QC agreed that it would be in the public interest after the boy was convicted of murder and robbery at Bradford Crown Court, together with a 21-year-old man.

David, (57), was covering the trial in his role as co-owner of Bradford-based news agency Crabtree’s.

He said: “I wasn’t present when the original section 39 order was made, but when the trial began I was told that the order was in place.

“I decided that rather than try and get the order lifted during the trial – which I didn’t think would have been very successful – I would wait until the jury had heard all the evidence.

“I then wrote a letter to the judge pointing out that it would be in the public interest to name the boy if he was convicted of murder.

“I cited various pieces of case law and after the guilty verdicts were returned the judge announced that he was lifting the order because it was in the public interest.”

Following the case David was able to use his first-hand experience in class, as he showed trainees a copy of the letter he had submitted to the court.

David said: “We do have rehearsals where I will play the part of the judge and trainees have to stand up and argue their case, but this brought what they have been taught to life.

“It is part and parcel of the job when you cover the courts and you have to get used to doing it – sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t.

“The trainees are currently about half-way through their course so it was a good time for this to happen.”