NSW Judge demands trial web blackout

A SUPREME Court judge has called for the internet to be purged of any material likely to prejudice a trial, to prevent jurors conducting their own investigations into cases they are sitting on.

Justice Virginia Bell, of the NSW Supreme Court, told a conference in Darwin of Supreme and Federal court judges from across the country yesterday that the ready availability of archived press reports on the internet could jeopardise the trial of an accused person.

But her call was branded "silly and unworkable" by the media union, while the internet industry said it would be impossible to police offshore sites.

Justice Bell recommended that to prevent jurors from researching cases online, Crown prosecutors in any pending case should "carry out searches on the internet and, in the event that prejudicial material is identified ... request any Australian-based website to remove it until the trial is completed".

She said prejudicial material relating to the trial of a prominent business identity had been removed from the website Crikey.com.au at the request of the NSW Supreme Court's public information officer.

Justice Bell said publication of material that had a real and definite tendency to prejudice a trial amounted to contempt of court. "The difficulty arises with material published on the internet by individuals and interest groups who may be difficult to trace or, in widely publicised cases, by the publication of prejudicial material on the internet by persons outside the jurisdiction."

A NSW study which examined 41 trials held between 1997 and 2000 found that in three cases jurors admitted to having carried out internet searches despite being instructed not to by judges.

Queensland and NSW have introduced legislation making it an offence for jurors to conduct investigations on the internet, punishable by a maximum of two years' jail.

Justice Bell said the potential for the internet to threaten the integrity of jury trials was highlighted by the promotion of CrimeNet, a national police site which published criminal histories.

After concerns were raised about CrimeNet, the site was modified so anyone searching its criminal records database must now open an account and furnish credit card details.

A subscriber must agree "not to search for details of any person whilst I am a juror in a trial of that person, in a jurisdiction that prohibits such information".

Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance federal secretary Christopher Warren said it was an attempt at censorship which highlighted a "disturbing trend" in judges' decisions.

"It's silly and it's unworkable, we've already seen in the Gutnick case how dangerous that can be for Australia," Mr Warren said. The 2002 Gutnick v Dow Jones case in the High Court established that, in law, internet articles are published where they are read.

Courts could already compel Australian ISPs to remove material from websites in Australia, Peter Coroneos, chief executive of the Internet Industry Association said. "The problem is much more difficult if someone puts up a website in Argentina," Mr Coroneos said.

By Kevin Meade and Cath Hart posted 28 January 05

Ed: I suspect that all of Justice Bell's shoes are slip-ons. Anyone who can make Chris Warren look intelligent has a few million years of evolution to catch up on.

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SEARCH THE INDEX TO THE GAOL PHOTOGRAPHS? SEND A POSTCARD TO A FRIEND FOR XMAS! OR JUST HANG THEM ON THE WALL AT HOME AS A TROPHY!

Lawyers want Baxter detainee released for treatment !

Lawyers acting for a hunger-striking detainee inside South Australia's Baxter detention centre have asked the Federal Court to order a psychiatric assessment for the man, saying he needs to be in mental health care, not detention.

Two male hunger strikers were taken to hospital early yesterday morning and another was taken to hospital last night for non-urgent treatment.

Lawyer Claire O'Connor says she will find out on Thursday whether the Federal Court will release one of her clients to get the health care she says he needs.

"He's swallowed shampoo, he's swallowed razor blades, taken overdoses of tablets," she said.

"He's been cut down by other detainees trying to hang himself.

"That's the man who we're trying to say is so ill we just want a hospital to look after him."

By Indefinite Detention 15 December 04

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Govt to restrict unions' right of entry

The Federal Government is planning to introduce a new Bill which will prevent unions from using state laws to undermine federal legislation governing right of entry.

Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews says the proposed law would apply where workers are covered by federal agreements.

He says the legislation has been prompted by two cases where the right of entry was significantly expanded by rulings in the Federal Court and the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC).

Mr Andrews says in one case the IRC allowed union representatives into a workplace without any restriction.

"This legislation will provide that the employer or the business may be able to make some reasonable requests about where those discussions with the workers should occur," he said.

"It's not doing anything more than reasserting what we believed has always been the status quo in relation to right of entry."

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Litigants are drowning: in the High Court

Litigants are drowning under a spiraling workload of dissatisfaction about not getting assistants to make an application to the High Court fighting their legal battles before the court without lawyers.

There were so many self represented litigants appearing in the High Court that more than half of its registry staff's time was taken up in dealing with them. The "go it alone" litigants have to take on tasks well above their qualified league causing them stress. This growing problem cannot be left unchecked.

The court's annual report revealed the overall, workload of the court, in terms of the number of new cases lodged, have increased by 34 per cent.

The number of constitutional writs lodged one of two ways, along with special leave applications, to take cases to the High Court rose from 81 to 300 in a year.

The bulk of these cases 96 per cent were immigration matters resulting from changes to migration laws.The blame for the escalating immigration caseload rests with amendments to the Migration Act made in October last year, which restricts the High Court from sending matters back to the Federal Court.

The High Court's most vehement criticism was reserved for the litigants who decided to fight their legal battles without lawyers.

The number of such people lodging applications in the High Court rose from 162 to 197 in a year and posed 'special difficulties' for the Court, the report said.

"Typically, they had very few assets (as judged by applications for exemption from fees on the grounds of financial hardship) or were in possession of a pensioner concession card or a health benefit card or they were an inmate of a prison or otherwise lawfully detained in a public institution, " the report said.

The report blamed the rise on the lack of financial disincentives for people without lawyers from bringing "hopeless cases", with 85 per cent of such litigants not paying any court fees last year.

Ten years ago, the number of special leave applications decided by the High Court which involved self represented litigants amounted to 5 per cent of the total; it rose to 14 per cent in 1996 ant to 28 per cent last year.

By David Thomas 8 November 2002

Ed: Perhaps if the said litigants were given support then there would be less 'hopeless cases', less stress, and the extra time wasted by the High Court who is obligated to devote so much time of its members to so many proceedings with such small prospect of success would pay the professional lawyers to support litigants.

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