The Law Of Contempt Of Court

The purpose of this report is to discuss the matter The Queen V Bayley, which took place on the 29th of September 2012. Adrian bailey (serial rapist) was found guilty on charges of murder and rape, this report will discuss in detail the court proceedings that lead up to the imprisonment of Adrian Bayley and also the events prior to the kidnapping of Jill Meagher. The purpose of this report is to discuss the purpose of law in our society and how it applies to people who commit crimes in our community. As well as the purpose of criminal law in our community.

John Griffith’s thesis asserted that the English judiciary comprises of judges who as a whole are of ‘a unifying attitude of mind, a political position, to protect and conserve certain values and institutions’. Before the Judicial

Juries are an essential component of Queensland’s criminal justice system. However, the current jury system in criminal law cases does not effectively meet the needs of society. This thesis is established by first examining the role that juries play in the criminal justice system and the various interests of those affected by juries. This is followed by a consideration of arguments for and against juries and reforms that may be made to the jury system. Overall, it will be seen that there are substantial reasons to reform the current system.

Having made visits to the Supreme, District and the Local Courts, I was able to obtain a better understanding of the Australian adversarial system. This report will attempt to analyze the distinctions between the different types of courts through primary observations. The report will also assess the models of justice in operation, the triviality of the lower courts compared to the higher courts and assess court procedure in each court.

Concepts of ‘accessing’ and ‘achieving’ justice and their definitions are often debated and contested. Achieving and accessing justice may be explained through a segregation of groups. For users of the justice system, access refers to the capacity to effectively utilise the justice system, whereas for the general public access to justice refers to the capacity to obtain appropriate information to evaluate the performance of the legal system and ways in which it operates on their behalf (Martin, 2014). These definitions reveal that both users of the courts and the general public should be very much aware of barriers to its access,

The legislation that governs most criminal law in South Australia is the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (CLCA) and Summary Offences Act. In this system there are summary and indictable offences determined by the severity of the crime. Summary offences are tried in a Magistrate Court as the nature of the crime requires lower penalties, for example traffic violations and shoplifting are summary offences. Indictable offences are serious offences such as murder, rape and armed robbery which are subject to imposition of heavier penalties. In South Australia a clear court hierarchy follows from the Magistrates Court to the District, Supreme and after the appeals courts and finally the High Court. The Supreme Court hears most major indictable offenses, including murder, treason and related offences. Individuals can appeal their legal disputes if they believe they did not receive a fair verdict. In contrast, media representations are negative with biased presentations of courts – the appeal process is undetailed and implies that the court system may not produce valid outcomes, only inconsistencies. Instead, the clear, natural process provides Rule of Law by allowing courts to review the verdicts of judges and application of law to

Supreme Court Case Sheppard V. Maxwell is the first case in American history to question whether the American right to a fair trial should be interrupted by the American right to freely publish one’s thoughts and opinions. Sheppard’s conviction, brought on by the biased eye of the press, was exonerated. However, concluded from the lack of policy alterations post-trial, the Sheppard V. Maxwell case still informally decided media is no real threat in the court system. Some may say otherwise. Although media may not directly affect court rulings, the press can certainly affect the public’s opinion, which in turn can affect a court case.

On observing the District Court a number of distinctions from the Local Courts were immediately made apparent. Without going in to detail about the actual structure of the courts, they seemed to fit more closely with the traditional schema of a typical courtroom. In particular the larger courtrooms with more facilities combined with the barristers and magistrates wearing their wig and robes seemed to instantly uphold the ideology of justice. It is interesting to note how appearances can automatically provide an impression that justice will be upheld. The

However, under further analysis, it becomes apparent that the verdict acts more as a deterrent rather than an upstanding legal configuration. The legal system, for the average person in New South Wales, is only a figure of authority that deters the individuals from breaking the law, which some may say is what it is there to do. Conversely, we need it to do more than that, we need it to properly meet our requests when we are involved in legal

The law of contempt can often be criticized by the media and has previously been branded as unfair on the careers of many journalists. Article 10 gives anyone the right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to hold opinions, and to receive and impart information without state interference. This includes the right to communicate and to express oneself in any way, whether this be through words, pictures, images or actions - including through public protest and demonstrations. The right to freedom of expression could not be more crucial than in a democracy; information and ideas help to inform the public and are essential in doing so. Having said this, contempt of court laws in Scotland are in place to ensure that every person standing for trial has the right to a fair trial, and will receive this.

Lay magistrates are very important to the legal system in England and wales. Lay magistrate’s also known as ‘Justices of the peace’ are volunteers in Magistrates courts as judicial officers. There are 21,500 lay magistrates currently in England and wales. Combined with professional magistrates in a magistrate’s court they take up to 95% of cases involving criminal charges . This essay will be investigating the actual importance of them as well as recommendations on diversifying the bench for the Lord Chancellor.

“It’s a general problem not specific to the law of the United Kingdom a criminal justice system characterized by an emphasis on crime control rather than due process will inevitably produce miscarriage of justice.”

Contempt of court concerning journalistic matters was dealt by the common law until 1981. Newspapers were almost always held for contempt of court because of what they wrote. The decisions were quite strict due to the fact that they were made by judges. After the Contempt of Court Act of 1981, matters concerning contempt of court were dealt by acts of Parliament. With this act a person can be found liable for contempt of court in two cases:

The rule of law broadly requires; that all are equal before the law , that the government is subject to the law and must exercise its power according to the law, finally that ‘there exist fundamental individual liberties and minimum standards of justice, to which the law must conform’ . The rule of law is problematic to define but put simply it is not ‘the rule of men’ and is evident in societies with functioning judiciaries and a clear separation of powers such as New Zealand. It is one of several intrinsic attributes of our constitutional makeup and overall the Judiciary aid in ‘ensure[ing] that the rule of

New Zealand 's constitution is very unique and is the base of our legal system. The constitution is unwritten allowing a variety of elements that make up our constitution some are; constitution conventions and statutes. New Zealand 's constitution structure is separated into three branches; the legislature, judiciary and the executive . The executive is the decision making branch, it is believed that the executive is where the real power of parliamentary supremacy lies, as the decisions they make influence the process of legislation . Throughout this essay I will emphasise how statutes are more important and effective in contrast to constitution conventions.