The defendant appealed from his committal for contempt of court. Being already subject to a suspended sentence of imprisonment for contempt, he had filmed court proceedings, and filmed himself commenting on a case where there had been an order for only delayed publication of the proceedings.
Held: Though the breaches had been flagrant and were not denied, the court had erred in the procedure adopted. Though a court still had power to deal summarily with a contempt in the face of the court, the usual procedure should be to invite the Attorney General to initiate proceedings.
Judges:
Lord Burnett of Maldon CJ, Turner, McGowan JJ
Citations:
[2018] EWCA Crim 1856, [2018] WLR(D) 503
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Contempt of Court
Updated: 26 April 2022; Ref: scu.621117