There appeared a report with a photograph in the edition of the Solomon Star this morning with the headline ‘Alleged Instigator to Face Court.’
In part of the article it went on to say, the accused is facing trial for one count of behaving in a riotous manner and had pleaded not guilty to the charge when he appeared in the last court appearance and a pre-trial conference was conducted yesterday.
The man was not named in the article and the story was prefaced with the word “alleged.”
Nevertheless one must be cautious in reporting on matters where a person has his/her case already before the court because of the danger of breaching what is referred to as Sub judice.
'The oft-used term 'media trial' is a real phenomenon and cannot be allowed where the fate of sub judice matters is being decided on public forums as not only the minds of the public are being influenced, but also potentially the minds of the judges, lawyers and investigators, which would obviously tend to prejudice the sub judice matter.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
