There are a number of court reporting laws on what you can and can’t do. For example the Criminal Justice Act 1925 forbids reporters, or anyone for that matter, from taking pictures inside court.
The reporters are also aware that back in 2010 The Lord Chief Justice said journalists are welcome to tweet from court, no longer having to apply to text, email, or tweet from there. But one key law that court reporters must know down to a T is the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, Section 49 to be precise.
It’s been particularly relevant in the last few days as two teenagers are appearing in youth court for sentencing after they admitted torturing and killing two kittens in West London. It comes after a kitten was found hanging from a tree, and the other on the ground, in a field near Ruislip Golf Club on May 3.
A girl and boy, both now aged 17, admitted animal cruelty offences at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on May 20.
But why can’t they be named?
Section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 grants all juveniles ‘concerned in the proceedings of youth court cases – defendants, victims/alleged victims and witnesses – from adverse publicity by banning, until they reach the age of 18, the media from identifying them in any publication referring to their cases’.
Things court reporters must not share are their names, addresses, schools, where they work, and any pictures of them. Breaching this ruling is a criminal offence and the reporter can face an unlimited fine.
However this can be lifted if a youth court feels that journalists should be able to identify the defendants for the benefit of the community, provided the suspect is a repeat offender or committed a notorious crime. A landmark case saw the identities of juvenile defendants lifted in 2018 when drill group 1011, from Notting Hill, were caught red-handed with machetes and baseball bats, by armed cops, suspected of going to attack rivals from Shepherd’s Bush.
The group argued at the time the weapons were props for a video, but the courts were having none of it and dished out sentences ranging from one year to three years and three months.
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