This is why open justice is broken

Suppression orders are infringing too far on open justice. New research from Victoria highlights some pretty scary trends^[1]. Suppression orders are often too broad, lack appropriate end points, are unclear in their terms, beyond the scope of the court's powers, and made without sufficient explanation of their necessity.

Here's an example. A few weeks ago a Victorian court reportedly prohibited the publication of "any detail or particular" of an alleged offence other than the time and place it occurred. Noble purpose; protecting the victim. But still a fail by the court. The orders were made when the charges were being dropped. The names of the accused, the offence with which they were charged and the age of the victim had already been widely published.