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.
Manchester-based Cavendish Press staged a courtroom intervention when a judge ruled that a man on trial for rape could not be named under the Children and Young Persons Act. Judge Adrian Lyon agreed to defence counsel’s request for a Section
The South Shields Gazette has set a legal precedent in its fight to identify a young defendant. Because the defendant was 17 at the time of his offence, he was dealt with by South Tyneside Youth Court – but he
A legal application by the Halifax Courier has led to the identity of two teenage hooligans being revealed in print. The paper was keen to report on a pair of youngsters, aged 14 and 15, who were both given anti-social
The South Wales Evening Post has named a teenage drug dealer after it made a successful request to identify him. The 17-year-old was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court, but could not be named in press reports of the case after
The Evening Gazette has finally been able to name a 14-year-old who was made the subject of an anti-social behaviour order. In December the paper was prevented from identifying the boy by district judge James Prowse, sitting at Teesside Magistrates
The Plymouth Evening Herald has been fined £1,500 after a court ruled that a photograph published in the paper identified a 15-year-old boy – even though it was partially blacked out. The newspaper had denied a summons, under Section 49
A newspaper argued that a 17-year-old knife-wielding robber should be identified in the press because the public should be made aware of who had carried out the crimes – and he could hardly be described as “vulnerable”. He was appearing
A judge who reversed a decision on what could and could not be reported at certain drugs hearings at Gloucester Crown Court has expelled the press – after changing his mind again. Judge Gabriel Hutton agreed to re-admit the press
A quick-thinking trainee reporter has successfully overturned an order that would have prevented his newspaper from naming a young gang member who had terrorised his neighbourhood. Mike Sherburn, (26), who works for the Eastern Daily Press in its Lowestoft office,
The North West Evening Mail has named a teenage thug who attempted to gag the paper. The 17-year-old boy, who is the subject of an anti-social behaviour order, threatened the newspaper with legal action in a bid to stop his
Moves to end automatic reporting restrictions on young people subject to anti-social behaviour orders have been announced by the Home Secretary, David Blunkett. The proposals form part of the Anti-Social Behaviour White Paper Respect and Responsibility. It would mean newspapers
An evening newspaper has persuaded a court to lift reporting restrictions on a case concerning arms cash deposits by the Middle Eastern state of Qatar. Jersey’s Royal Court has agreed to lift its ban on reporting a case in which
Two newspapers have overturned bans on identifying people involved in crown court proceedings after appealing to the judges involved. The Southern Daily Echo persuaded Judge David Griffiths, sitting in Southampton, that to name a 15-year-old who admitted robbery and grievous
A newspaper law expert has called for a review of the Contempt of Court Act, and suggested a study into the actual impact on jurors of pre-trial publicity surrounding a case. Express Newspapers’ legal advisor Justin Walford said the fault
Newcastle Chronicle and Journal Ltd has agreed to pay substantial undisclosed libel damages to actor Jimmy Nail for comments made by a columnist in the Sunday Sun in May. Gossip columnist Karen Wight also agreed to pay damages after she
The Evening Gazette has lost its bid to name a 14-year-old who terrorised a Middlesbrough estate. The teenager was made the subject of an anti-social behaviour order last week, but district judge James Prowse, sitting at Teesside Magistrates Court, banned