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R. v. BCTV and Hope
June 29, 1999
BCTV pleaded guilty to contempt of court for reporting, on the
first day of a jury trial, that the accused, "a convicted killer"
was back in court. The item was aired once at 6:30 a.m. before
senior news staff caught it and pulled it from subsequent news broadcasts.
The station apologized immediately to the court and a special legal
seminar was held for morning news staff to prevent a recurrence.
BCTV's track record was otherwise good. The station
agreed to pay $4000 to a legal education fund, in lieu of a fine,
at the judge's suggestion. The judge had earlier banned publication
of the identity of the accused and other details, but then rescinded
that order. In the face of the contempt, the original order
was reimposed until the jury began deliberations. An application
for a mistrial was denied. Interestingly, the judge noted
that eight of the twelve jurors had heard of the accused prior to
their being selected, probably because of the notoriety of his earlier
murder conviction.
See R.
v. BCTV and Hope
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