Media law is ever changing and this index will strive to keep you abreast of developments in this complex and important area of journalism.
Our fortnightly column looking at the latest law issues, written by specialist media lawyers from Foot Anstey, also appears here.
The Craven Herald secured the lifting of reporting restrictions on a teenager who was handed Skipton’s first anti-social behaviour order. The boy is now no longer able to indulge in threatening behaviour anywhere in the town – unless he wants
Wakefield Express court reporter Charlie Bullough has cut through the red tape surrounding bolt-on anti-social behaviour order cases to win the right to name a persistent young offender. The Section 49 order protecting 16-year-old Ashley Atkinson, who was made the
An identification ban on a 17-year-old, who was in court after a spree of violent and intimidating behaviour, was lifted at the request of the Evening Gazette on Teesside. The judge at Teesside Magistrates Court agreed that naming the youth
The South Wales Argus has again been hit by a “back door” bid to ban the identification of adult defendants accused of offences against children. For the third time in recent months a Gwent council has sought – and been
The Press and Journal and Edinburgh Evening News are facing legal action after publishing the name of a 15-year-old charged with the murder of teenager Jodi Jones. The papers are being investigated for naming someone under the age of 16
Scarborough Evening News reporter Richard Harris has successfully argued that a court order should not be imposed in a case involving cruelty to a baby. It was his second successful legal identification challenge in a few months. In a letter
Journalists are being invited to attend a seminar to learn more about how the Data Protection Act relates to their job. Hosted by Rowe Cohen solicitors, the Vital Topics seminar will aim to equip journalists with accurate and relevant legal
Confusion over a Soham father who assaulted his baby girl was averted when Ely Standard reporter Elaine King successfully applied in court to have the infant named. She argued that without the relationship being shown, it may have looked in
Human rights legislation is preventing a newspaper from publishing pictures of shoplifters banned from more than 200 city shops. The York Evening Press has published a ‘hit list’ of the top ten serial shoplifters in York. The thieves – all
A North Derbyshire newspaper has welcomed a judge’s decision to allow the naming of a doctor who secretly filmed a family as they undressed in a swimming pool changing room. District Judge John Friel lifted a naming ban on the
The Dorking Advertiser has won the right to name a teenage tearaway who urinated on students’ tents and threw stones into a school swimming pool. The Trinity Mirror newspaper made a successful court plea, arguing that the 17-year-old boy, who
The Halesowen News has carried first person stories from two indecent assault victims after they agreed to waive their anonymity to tell their tale in the paper. They came forward after a perverted plumber walked free from court despite clocking
The Southport Visiter has won the right to name a teenager jailed for nine years after attacking his grandmother with a claw hammer. Reporter Greg O’Keeffe successfully applied to overturn a Section 39 Order at Liverpool Crown Court. He argued
Police are investigating an allegation of contempt of court after a rape victim was inadvertently named by a Surrey newspaper. Under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976, the victims of certain sexual offences – including rape – have anonymity for
The Attorney General has outlined a series of ten guidelines for the media in an attempt to prevent prejudicial coverage of high-profile court cases. The controversial remarks came from Lord Goldsmith at a Law For Journalists Conference. He tackled examples
A Middlesbrough newspaper was able to identify a 13-year-old who received a five-year anti-social behaviour order after, in an unusual twist, the girl chose to be named. The Evening Gazette reported how the girl had carried out catalogue of attacks,