Courting Social Media in Australia's Criminal Courtrooms: The Continuing Tension between Promoting Open Justice and Protecting Procedural Integrity

Abstract

Technological advancements and the rise of social media have transformed the media landscape and blurred the boundaries between journalist and citizen. Traditional media organisations have been quick to embrace the benefits of social platforms, including immediacy, audience engagement and increased circulation. As well as allowing for more detailed representations of court proceedings than may be available in a traditional article format, the capacity to relay information to a vast audience through social media has eliminated some obstacles that have historically placed media organisations in the best position to report on court proceedings. This presents significant opportunities to enhance open justice; however, concerns have been raised about inaccurate and prejudicial reporting, as well as the impact of social media reporting on the practical capacity of judicial officers to control the publication of information relating to criminal proceedings. This article examines the response of United Kingdom and Australian jurisdictions to the use of electronic devices for reporting from courtrooms to examine how the competing imperatives to promote open justice and protect procedural integrity are being balanced.

Keywords:

• social media
• criminal courts
• open justice
• Australia
• United Kingdom