Law

Jul 23, 2009 - Posted by Dean Jobb

News
The Canadian Press has been fined $4,000 for contempt of court for breaching a publication ban imposed at a British Columbia murder trial last year. The wire service circulated a report that used the first name of an undercover RCMP officer whose identity was protected under a court-ordered ban. The CP reporter covering the case was aware of the ban but assumed the name used to identify the officer in court was a pseudonym; it turned out to be the officer's real name. The ruling will be of particular interest to online journalists, as the report appeared on only a handful of websites before CP realized its mistake, killed the story and apologized to the court. Read the Vancouver Sun report. Read the ruling.

TV station in contempt for ban breach

Feb 19, 2007 - Posted by Dean Jobb

News

A British Columbia television station has been fined $2,000 after pleading guilty to violating a court order shielding the identity of an undercover police officer. Kelowna-based CHBC Televisionshowed theofficer with her face obscured, but the court order prohibited the publication or broadcast of “any likeness” of undercover officers called as witnesses. The ruling said there was a “significant risk” of recognition, which could jeopardize her undercover work and her safety. Read CHBC’s news report on the case.

Was the BBC right to broadcast interview with murder suspect?

Dec 31, 2006 - Posted by Dean Jobb

Feature
Did the BBC risk running afoul of Britain's contempt of court laws when it aired an interview with a suspect in the Suffolk prostitute murders? BBC media correspondent Torin Douglas reports.

Trial by journalist

Oct 23, 2006 - Posted by Dean Jobb

Feature
In Canada, you're innocent until proven guilty. You wouldn't know it from reading some of Christie Blatchford's columns on high-profile trials. Mike Drach of the Ryerson Review of Journalism explains how one journalist has pushed the limits of the law of contempt of court.