The prisoner sought a writ of habeas corpus having been imprisoned for six months for contempt of court after being found to be recording proceedings at Bradford Crown Court from the public gallery.
Held: The proceedings had been summary and though it may have been better had the defendant had legal representation, that was not conclusive. There was no basis for the assertion that the judge had been biased, and ‘A contempt of court is an act or omission calculated to interfere with the due administration of justice. Unauthorised recording of court proceedings has long been held to be capable of constituting a contempt. The rights conferred by Article 10 are not unrestricted. There is no arguable basis that the Claimant’s rights under Article 10 have been infringed.’ There was no basis for asserting that the imprisonment was unlawful. An application to purge the contempt should be made to the judge who had made the order. An appeal had been filed, and it was appropriate that that should expedited.
Wyn Williams J
[2011] EWHC 2269 (Admin)
Bailii
European Convention on Human Rights 6
England and Wales
Updated: 21 July 2021; Ref: scu.443312 br>