Legal: court cases

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Matt Flynn
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Legal: court cases

Post by Matt Flynn »

Discussing the details of a court matter after charges have been laid or while the court case is in progress is unwise. You can end up in a world of legal trouble.

When someone is charged it is an alleged offence regardless of the apparent weight of evidence.

Publishing details of a charged person's character, eg citing previous offences or charges, can prejudice their case and is contempt of court.

Publishing a picture of someone facing court is unwise because their identity might be an issue in the case.

In summary: Do not post pictures or other details of people facing court cases because it can prejudice a court case. Do not comment on why someone might be guilty. Jurors have access to these forums and lawyers might say that such information prejudiced the case.

Why should you obey these rules? You can be charged with contempt of court if you prejudice a court case with your comments. You can face heavy fines, even jail. You could get FFF into trouble as well.

I will delete posts as necessary, but please don't tempt fait by ignoring this warning.

The good news is that when a person has been convicted you can pretty much go to town with your opinion, although there is still defamation law to consider if you make new allegations about the person.


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