The Melbourne Magistrates Court has reportedly made an
order prohibiting publication of material about Adrian Bayley until
18 January 2013, and requiring any negative material about him on
the internet to be taken down. Suppression orders aren't
particularly outrageous, but this one's a bit odd.
To explain, Bayley is accused of the murder of Jill Meagher in
Melbourne last month. In light of some of the particularly negative
online communication about him (and his personal history) the
purpose of the suppression order is to ensure he gets a fair trial.
We think that's fine but we're not too sure about the
effectiveness of the order.
Technically, the Court has the power to order any person to do
or abstain from doing any act or thing. It also has the power to
require any act or thing to be done or left undone. But surely it
occurred to the Court that there may be some issues here. Will
journalists be able to publish information about Adrian Bayley if
they do so
