Possible/Practice Questions answered!

Possible Questions:

1. What is the highest court in the UK?　 Supreme Court

Where does it sit? Parliament Square



How many justices? 12

2. Three functions of Crown Courts?　

Appeals from magistrates



Indictable offences



Sentencing

3. Three functions of Magistrates courts?　

Summary cases



Bail application



Committal hearings



Family court



Youth Court



Licensing appeals

4. What is the difference between a civil and criminal offence?

Civil is between individuals and/or companies and criminal is against the state

5. Is the legal test of proof the same or different?

Different – Civil "On the balance of probability" and Criminal "Beyond reasonable doubt"

6. Give 3 sources of law in the UK.

Statute Law



Common Law



Judicial Law



EU Law

7. What do journalists mean by the public interest?
Either: knowledge of information is a sufficiently major benefit t society as a whole
Or:

Promotes accountability and transparency



Furthers understanding of/participation in public debate of issues of the day



Allows individuals/companies to better understand decisions made by public authorities affecting their lives



Brings to light information affecting public health and public safety

8. Briefly explain what is meant by ‘prejudice’ and ‘contempt’ in the context of media law.

Prejudice – where the publication of certain information will make it difficult for an accused person to be treated fairly
Contempt – where information published is in breach of the rules of crime or court reporting and carries a high risk of prejudicing legal proceedings; dealt with by Attorney General Dominic Greeve

9. When does a case become legally active?

When an arrest is made



An arrest warrant is issued



Someone is charged



A summons is issued by magistrates

10. After an arrest is made what sort of facts – in general terms – can be reported?　

Things which will not be disputed at a trial, e.g. that a crime happened and where

11. The accused appears before magistrates – in general terms – what can you report? List them…

Name, age, address and occupation of defendant



Charges



Name of court and judges



If bail is granted



If legal aid was granted



Names of barristers and solicitors present



Date and place case is adjourned to

12. What is meant by an ‘either-way offence?

An offence that can be tried either at magistrates or crown court, usually dependant on the seriousness of allegations as to which

13. What is maximum sentence magistrates can impose?

6 months

14. What is meant by a conditional discharge?

Defendant is not immediately charged unless they re-offend

15. What is the purpose of a ‘Section 49 order’?

Protects anonymity of under 18s in youth court

16. What is purpose of a Section 39 order?

Protects anonymity of under 18s in court

17. What do we mean by ‘jigsaw identification’?

When enough bits of information are published to be able to positively identify someone

18. One morning you arrive at court and barristers are making legal arguments about crucial evidence. You notice the jury isn’t there.　 Can you report the proceedings?

No as it this information could prejudice proceedings

19. What is required of your court report for it to attract absolute privilege?

For reports to be Fair, accurate and contemporaneous/fast

20. In this context explain what is meant by ‘fair’.

Balanced, i.e. not only reporting the defence r prosecution’s side

21. During a murder trial a family member shouts at the defendant from the public gallery. "You lying bastard – you killed our boy!"　 Is that safe to report?

No – can report that shouts were heard but not what is said.

22. How would you define libel?

Libel = Defamation + Identification + Publication

23. How do we know when a statement is defamatory?

It tends to:

Lower them in estimation in the minds of right thinking people



Damages their reputation/disparages their office/trade/business/profession



Exposes them to hatred, contempt or ridicule



Causes them to be shunned or avoided

24. What particular danger is there of libel for TV journalists?

Picture libel – where pictures of people are identifiable in ‘wallpaper’ when discussing a defamatory story, e.g. identifiable pictures of nurses when discussing negligence in hospital

25. What are the 3 major libel defences?

Honest Opinion/Fair Comment



Truth/Justification



Public Interest

26. Something re the McAlpine affair…

Newsnight and subsequent twitter discussions lead to jigsaw identification of Lord McAlpine in false child abuse allegations.

27. Why is the legal principle of privilege so important to journalists?

Protects journalists from potentially untrue or defamatory statements

28. Give examples of occasions when reports may attract Qualified Privilege with, and without, explanation and contradiction.

Public Meetings



Police Statements



Press Conferences



Council Meetings



Press Releases

29. Why was a public meeting in 2000 about the jailed paratrooper Lee Clegg so significant?

Lord Bingham ruled that in regards to a public meeting whereby the press have been invited with intention to addressing a large audience, then journalists will act as the eyes and ears of the public

30. What’s the purpose of copyright law?

Protect intellectual property

31. You use a photo off the internet.　 Is it free of copyright?　

Unlikely; if the image is from a commons site, such as WikiCommons, it is either in the public domain and therefore free to use or a Creative Commons photo which will at least need attribution to be used, as stated in the licence agreement. Photos cannot be used under fair dealing so copyright photos are not safe to use without written permission from copyright holder.

32. Why is the principle of fair dealing important and what are its limitations?

Fair dealing allows journalists to use small snippets of copyright material for the purpose of:

Reporting news/current events



Review/criticism



Parody and satire (as of sometime later this year)

33. What is the purpose of the law of confidence?

Protect private or confidential information

34. What are the danger areas for journalists?

Breach of Privacy (Section 8 Human Rights Act)



Commercial secrets



State Secrets (Official Secrets Act)

35. What dilemma does a journalist face when newsworthy information comes into his or her possession?

Either risk an injunction asking for a response to allegations or risk breaching confidence and potentially libel if allegations turn out to be false

36. What bodies are responsible for regulating the professional conduct of journalists?

OfCom – broadcast
PCC – press – soon to be taken over by IPSO
BBC Guidelines

37. Which body has most power and why?

OfCom as it has statutory power

38. Define impartiality.

Balanced stories without bias
Would there be any difference in your approach to this if you were working in newspapers or broadcasting?


Yes – broadcasters must be impartial but print can be skewed politically as per Editor and/or paper’s style

39. Why is accuracy and impartiality especially important at election times?

Coverage aids the democratic process and helps voters make choices

40. What are the danger areas for journalists during campaign reporting?

False statements about candidates



Maintaining Impartiality



Reporting opinion polls and exit polls

41. Must all candidates standing in a constituency be covered equally?

No – major parties must be treated equally but minor party and independent candidates do not need as much coverage

42. On polling day when can we start reporting exit polls?

Once all polls have closed

43. On polling day a candidate makes a final plea to voters – can we report this?

No