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Editors welcome plan to broadcast Crown Court sentencing

Ian Murray 2Editors have welcomed plans to allow cameras into Crown Courts under new legislation put before Parliament today.

The Society of Editors has lent its support to the proposal, which will allow cameras to broadcast the sentencing remarks of High Court and Senior Circuit judges in some of the most high-profile courts across England and Wales.

Filming will be restricted to sentencing remarks only and no other court user – including victims, witnesses, jurors and court staff – will be filmed.

The Crown Court (Recording and Broadcasting) Order 2020 follows three-month pilot that allowed not-for-broadcast sentencing remarks to be filmed in eight Crown Courts.

Ian Murray, executive director of the SoE, said: “The cause of open justice can only be served by this development which will open up the court proceedings to a public that is now used to receiving news and information in this video age.

“The proposals, while retaining the dignity of the courts, will be a huge step forward in ensuring transparency in the justice system, enabling the media to allow the public better access to judicial proceedings which in turn can only assure communities that justice is being seen to be carried out correctly.

“This move follows a determined campaign by broadcasters BBC, ITV and Sky and they are to be congratulated on their perseverance in this important matter.”

The move has also been welcomed by the News Media Association on the grounds that it would aid regional newspaper readers’ understanding of how the Crown Court system works.

The NMA said in a statement: “A local newspaper may have followed the case from initial report of the crime investigation to fair and accurate reports of the criminal proceedings right through to sentencing.

“It is vital that HMCTS ensure that such sentencing remarks can be included in and viewed as an integral part of newspapers’ online reports of the proceedings, where the sentencing remarks would be placed in proper context.”

Justice secretary Robert Buckland said: “This Government, alongside the judiciary, is committed to improving public understanding of our justice system and allowing cameras into the Crown Court will do just that.

“It will ensure our courts remain open and transparent and allow people to see justice being delivered to the most serious of offenders.”

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  • January 16, 2020 at 2:20 pm
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    ‘Enabling the media to allow the public better access’ – isn’t that called court reporting? Sentencing remarks are already reported by journalists, aren’t they?

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  • January 17, 2020 at 5:42 pm
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    User Generated Content – Did you read the story? This is allowing Video being taken inside the court which is a first and a very interesting change in the rules, preciously taking a photo or video inside court and your in contempt of court and could face jail.

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