A magistrate exercising powers under s101D of the Justices Act to suppress all evidence at a preliminary hearing must first consider whether the interests of justice could be adequately protected by suppressing only part of the evidence; failure to do so constitutes jurisdictional error. Suppression orders are properly issued only where pre-trial publication has the likelihood or substantial risk of causing prejudice, not merely the 'potential' to influence jurors, and the magistrate must take into account the capacity of jury directions and evidentiary rulings to cure any prejudice, the likely delay before trial, and the fundamental importance of open justice.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 20 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 20 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.