“How bad does press coverage at the time of an individual’s arrest have to get for it to be regarded as a contempt of court? This interesting question was at the heart of the recent case concerning coverage of my client Christopher Jefferies’s arrest by police investigating the murder of the landscape architect Joanna Yeates. The contempt action was brought by the attorney general under section 2(2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, which applies to any publication that creates a risk that the course of justice will be seriously impeded or prejudiced, whether or not they intended to do so.”
The Guardian, 4th August 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
