R v Andrew Michael GRACE [2012] NSWDC 5

R v Andrew Michael GRACE [2012] NSWDC 5

Access to documents tendered at the sentencing hearing should be granted to the media organisation, subject to appropriate redactions, in accordance with common law principles favouring open justice unless privacy considerations clearly outweigh transparency; mere administrative convenience in receiving evidence in documentary form does not suffice to withhold material from the public if it could otherwise have been provided orally in open court.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
03 February 2012
Procedural Posture
Interlocutory Application / Application by a Non Party for Access to Material Held by the Court
Outcome
Access granted to documents, some redacted, to media organisation for purpose of fair and accurate reporting.
Legal Topics
['access to Court Information' 'open Justice' 'privacy' 'media Access' 'interlocutory Applications']
['criminal Law' 'court Procedure'] ['access to Court Information' 'open Justice' 'privacy' 'media Access' 'interlocutory Applications']

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Procedural Posture

Interlocutory Application / Application by a Non Party for Access to Material Held by the Court

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Should a non-party journalist be granted access to documents tendered at a sentencing hearing, some of which are objected to by the accused on privacy grounds?' "Does the Court Information Bill 2010, although unproclaimed, guide the court's discretion regarding media access to restricted information?"]

Ratio Decidendi

Access to documents tendered at the sentencing hearing should be granted to the media organisation, subject to appropriate redactions, in accordance with common law principles favouring open justice unless privacy considerations clearly outweigh transparency; mere administrative convenience in receiving evidence in documentary form does not suffice to withhold material from the public if it could otherwise have been provided orally in open court.

Court Disposition

Access granted to documents, some redacted, to media organisation for purpose of fair and accurate reporting.

Orders

  • ['Copies of the documents referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 and 5 of the Reasons to be made available to Ms Carson of The Daily Telegraph solely for fair and accurate reporting of sentencing.' 'A copy of the redacted documents to be placed in the court file and marked for identification 6.']