A comprehensive document containing everything you need to learn for the NCTJ Media Law and Court Reporting exams. Includes definitions, case law, and regulations. Perfect for Journalism students.
1 - Courts, open justice, crimes, punishments and sources of law
Key terms
Open justice → the principle that court proceedings should be open to the
press and public so that they can be scrutinised
Relevant laws
● Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights - the right to
freedom of expression
● Article 6 - the right to a fair trial (presumed innocent until proven guilty)
● Human Rights Act 1998 → put the ECtHR into UK law and increased its
influence on the courts
Case law
● Scott v Scott (1911) → set a precedent for the principle of open
justice following a divorce case held in private
● Lord Halsbury → “Every court of justice is open to every subject of
the King”
● Lord Shaw → “Where there is no publicity there is no justice”
Open justice in the courts
● The law must balance open justice with the right to a fair trial
● To reconcile these, courts can enforce certain restrictions. Some are
automatic (eg. sexual assault cases), and others give the court discretionary
powers to introduce them. Breaching these could lead to a fine or jail time
Courts structure in England and Wales
● Two branches - criminal and civil
● Criminal courts deal with crimes against the state and hand out
punishments
● Criminal courts = Magistrates’ Court, Crown Court, Court of Appeal,
Supreme Court
● Civil courts deal with and resolve disputes between companies, individuals
and institutions
● Civil courts = County Court, High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court
● Juries are involved in Crown Court trials and occasionally civil cases
● The highest courts deal with both kinds of cases
● Appeals in the lower courts move up to the next level. Decisions made in
higher courts are binding on lower courts
Sources of law
, ● Common/custom law → in the Middle Ages, royal judges administered
the ‘law and custom of the realm’. This developed into common law,
applying nationwide
● Precedent → judges applied common law to the cases before them.
This is how decisions made in courts set precedents for other cases
● Statutes → Acts of Parliament
● Statutory instruments → secondary legislation that allows the
provisions of an Act of Parliament to be introduced or altered
without Parliament having to pass a new Act eg. emergency laws
during Covid
● EU law → regulations which are binding on member states. Following
Brexit, the UK is still deciding which to obey
● European Convention on Human Rights
Types of court
Civil courts
● Cases include medical negligence and divorce
● The claimant brings the case (sues) using a claim form
● The defendant is the person or company being sued
● The court hears evidence from both sides and the judge decides who wins
‘on the balance of probabilities’ (standard of proof)
● The outcome will be damages or a court order eg. an injunction compelling
the defendant to do something, like fix botched building work
● Most are dealt with in County Courts, but some can reach High Court
● Juries rarely used
● Cases are listed as Rippon v University of Sheffield
Criminal courts
● Trials take place in Crown or Magistrates’ Court
● These are prosecutions of crimes investigated by the police
● The court hears all evidence from the prosecution and defence, then decides
whether the defendant is guilty ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’ or not
● OR the defendant can plead guilty
● Cases are heard by a district judge/three magistrates in mag court, or by a
judge and jury in Crown Court
● The defendant = person accused of a crime
● If they plead guilty, they will receive a lesser sentence and a trial is not
necessary
● They will be convicted and have a criminal conviction added to their record
● If they deny the charge, they must be tried
● Mag courts can only sentence for up to one year in jail, whilst crown courts
can impose stricter sentences
● Cases are listed as R (Rex - the King) vs Rippon
,Juries and courts
● Made up of 12 people randomly picked from the electoral roll
● Judges are qualified lawyers with years of experience as barristers
● District judges (mag courts) are legally trained, paid staff
● Magistrates are unpaid volunteers
● Criminal cases are prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
● Standard of proof in criminal cases - the magistrates or jury must be ‘sure
beyond all reasonable doubt’ that the defendant is guilty. If they are unsure,
they cannot convict
● Someone found not guilty is acquitted
● If there is not a unanimous verdict, the jury can come to a majority verdict
(10-2 or 9-1) after the judge gives them a direction. This is after a minimum
of two hours and ten minutes of deliberation
● May be a retrial if they cannot agree
Crimes and punishments
Crimes
● Summary - minor crimes eg. shoplifting, speeding, drunken behaviour
● Either-way - medium level offences eg. burglary, sexual assault, GBH. Can
be tried at either mag or Crown court
● Indictable-only - most serious crimes dealt with in Crown Court eg. murder,
rape, robbery
Punishments
● Jail term - most spend half of their sentence in prison and half on licence in
the community if they behave
● Suspended sentence - the defendant walks free but must behave for a
certain amount of time specified by the court. If they commit another crime
within this period, the original prison sentence can be activated
● Concurrent jail term - served at the same time as the main sentence
● Consecutive sentence - served in addition to any original sentence
● Absolute discharge - the defendant is convicted but there is no further
punishment
● Probation order - they are monitored by the Probation Service for a period of
time. May have to carry out community work or attend courses
● Conditional discharge - no further punishment but conditions are imposed
eg. banned from a certain area
● Fine - the defendant must pay money
● Community punishment order - carried out in the community, may include
unpaid work
● Restraining order - banned from going within a certain distance of someone
eg. domestic abuse cases
● Binding over - a warning. The criminal is not convicted but must agree to
keep the peace for a specified period of time and will lose and agreed sum of
money if they don’t
, ● Committal for sentence - must be sentenced in the Crown Court and
magistrates feel their powers aren’t enough
2 - Section 52a and Section 8a reporting restrictions
Key laws
Section 52a of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998
Bail Act 1976
Section 8a of the Magistrates’ Court Act 1980
Section 52a
● Applies to preliminary hearings held in magistrates courts
● Automatic reporting restriction
● What you can report is limited so as not to prejudice the case if it were to go
before a jury
● Do not report:
○ Any evidence apart from the charge - could be proved to be false or
inadmissable
○ Previous convictions
○ Anything which could cause ‘a risk of prejudice to the proceedings’
○ Reasons for refusing bail
● These are in place to ensure the defendant is presumed innocent until
proven guilty. We do not want anyone who could be a potential juror to read
prejudicial details revealed at preliminary hearings - this is anything that
could influence jurors to wrongly reach a verdict
● You can write:
○ Name of the court and magistrates
○ Name, age, occupation and address of the defendant
○ Basic details of the alleged crime included in the charge
○ Names of lawyers engaged in the proceedings
○ Whether proceedings are adjourned, and to where and when
○ Bail arrangements and conditions
○ Basic protestations of innocence
○ Colour
○ Whether legal aid was granted
○ The fact there are reporting restrictions in place
○ The defendant in an either-way case has chosen trial by jury
● When restrictions do not apply
○ Once the trial ends
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller katyroberts. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £6.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
