How We Report the Courts

VPNews reports from criminal courts in England and Wales. This page explains the rules our reporters work under, what the words in a court report mean, where our information comes from, and how to raise a concern about a report.

Open justice

Courts in England and Wales sit in public, and the law starts from the principle that justice must be seen to be done. Journalists may attend almost every hearing and report what is said in open court: the name of an adult defendant, the charges, the evidence, the verdict and the sentence.

A fair and accurate report of public court proceedings, published at the time and in good faith, is protected in law. It cannot be the subject of a defamation claim (Defamation Act 1996, section 14) and does not amount to contempt of court (Contempt of Court Act 1981, section 4). That protection exists because open reporting is how the public sees the justice system work; it is why we name defendants and report cases in detail.

What the words mean

Every stage of a criminal case has a precise meaning, and our reports use the words precisely.

Arrested — the police have detained someone for questioning. No charge has been brought. As a rule we do not name people who have been arrested but not charged; the courts have held that a person under investigation has a reasonable expectation of privacy until charge.
Charged — prosecutors have decided there is enough evidence to bring a case to court. A charge is an accusation. The person is innocent unless and until proved guilty.
Remanded in custody / on bail — a decision about where a defendant waits for their next hearing. It is not a finding of guilt.
Pleaded not guilty — the defendant denies the charge; the case will go to trial. Pleaded guilty — the defendant admits it; the case moves to sentencing.
Convicted — found guilty by magistrates or by a jury. Acquitted — found not guilty. We report acquittals and discontinued cases with the same prominence as charges, and we add the outcome to our earlier reports of the same case.
Sentenced — the punishment imposed after conviction. Where a report gives a sentence in years, it is the sentence the judge passed; time actually served depends on the law on release, which our reports explain where it matters.

Reporting restrictions we follow

Some things said in court may not be reported, either automatically by law or because a judge has ordered it. Our reporters check the restrictions in every case before publishing.

Victims of sexual offences have lifetime anonymity from the moment an allegation is made (Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992). We never publish anything likely to identify them, and we may leave details out of a report for that reason.
Children and young people appearing in the youth court are not identified (Children and Young Persons Act 1933, section 49). In the adult courts a judge may order that a defendant, witness or victim under 18 is not identified (Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, section 45).
Postponement and withholding orders — a judge can order that part of a case is not reported until a later date (Contempt of Court Act 1981, section 4(2)) or that a name or other matter is withheld (section 11). While an order is in force our reports may be incomplete, and we do not say what has been left out.
Preliminary hearings — reports of a hearing that sends a case to the Crown Court are limited by law to basic facts such as names, ages, addresses, charges, the court and bail arrangements until the trial is over (Crime and Disorder Act 1998, section 52A), unless the restriction is lifted.
Active cases — from arrest or charge until the case ends, it is a contempt of court to publish material that creates a substantial risk of serious prejudice to a trial. We do not publish a defendant's previous convictions, comment on guilt, or material a jury has not been shown, until the case is over.
Juries — we never identify jurors or report anything about their deliberations (Juries Act 1974, section 20D).

Why we name defendants

We name adult defendants who have been charged, and give their age and the area where they live, as the courts allow. Open justice depends on it, and stating who a defendant is prevents other people of the same name being wrongly suspected. We do not name a person who has not been charged unless there is a compelling public interest in doing so, and we do not identify anyone protected by a reporting restriction.

Where our information comes from

Our reports are based on hearings our reporters attend, on court lists and published judgments, on documents read in open court, and on statements issued by police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service. A report says when it is based on a statement rather than a hearing we attended. Comment and opinion pieces are labelled as commentary and kept separate from court reporting.

Photographs

Photography and filming inside a court in England and Wales is prohibited (Criminal Justice Act 1925, section 41). Pictures of defendants come from images released by police forces or the Crown Prosecution Service, from public appeals, from images taken outside court, or from public sources. We do not use a photograph in a way that would breach a reporting restriction.

Updates, corrections and removal requests

Court cases move through several hearings, sometimes over years. We add outcomes to earlier reports and link each stage of a case together. If you believe a report is wrong, tell us: our Corrections page explains how, and our Complaints Procedure sets out what happens next. Accurate reports of public court proceedings are not normally removed, but we will correct any error, add the outcome of a case, and consider every request on its facts.

Contact

Editorial questions about a court report: [email protected]. Legal matters: [email protected].