Contempt Of Court Case Study

2125 Words5 Pages

Indubitably, all human beings are equally entitled human rights without discrimination. It is very important as it is inherent to all human beings and it enables effective functioning of the administration and dispensation of justice. If the authority or respect for law is weakened, then the public will diminish their confidence in the administration of justice. If the courts authority is not adhered to in court administration of legal proceedings, then it reduces the chances for a fair trial for the persons involved in the case. Hence, the courts reserves the right to punish those preside or wilfully interfere with its authority.
Contempt of court was instigated by the notion that the court administration must be liberated to adjudicate on those matters before it, unimpeded by any outside influences including that may prevent the flow of justice. It seeks to punish those whose conduct that tends to obstruct, prejudice or abuse the administration of justice, whether in a particular case or in general (Bradley and Ewing 1993). Therefore, anything which plainly tends to create disdain of the authority of the courts of justice such as the open insult or the resistance to the judges who preside there or disobedient to their orders is deemed as contempt of court. It may be categorized as civil or criminal contempt. The law governing contempt of court is found in the Contempt of court Act 1981 and in common law. In the Caribbean, the law that supports contempt of court is a generally is common law. Common law articulates the ideas and judicial theory of one of the greatest justices of the Supreme Court. (Holmes, 2009). In essence, common law is fundamentally reliant on previous decisions made in judicial pronouncements. The contempt ...

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...publication was merely reporting and comment based from the witness’ testimony and not his personal opinion. Nevertheless, if it is that the accused is suppressed of a fair trial due to prejudicial publicity, then the case may be dismissed and if the accused was guilty, he could walk free.
In conclusion, though the media serves as a platform to relay legal proceedings, it is evident that the media can pose serious negative influences upon the accused. Undue, unjust, and misconstrued comments by media houses will eventually lead to an unfair and prejudiced trial. Hence, the media must be regulated by exerting the law of contempt of court to prevent interference in the courts administration of justice including to reprove those found in violation of the basic code of conduct. However, the media can utilize the defence options available if he/she can prove otherwise.

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