Category Archives: Media law

Judge acted unlawfully over hearing on Prince Philip’s will, court told

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The Guardian is attempting to overturn decision that prevented media from attending hearing

A leading judge acted unlawfully by authorising a secret court hearing in which he decided that Prince Philip’s will should be kept secret without notifying the media, an appeal court has heard.

On Wednesday the Guardian opened its legal case to overturn the decision that prevented media from attending the hearing, arguing that it was a serious interference with the principle of open justice.

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Defamation trial hears ‘malicious’ text message Pauline Hanson sent former senator’s wife

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Brian Burston, who represented One Nation from 2016 to 2018, is suing his former leader for what he says were accusations of sexual harassment against him

Pauline Hanson sent a “spiteful” and “malicious” text message to the wife of former One Nation senator Brian Burston claiming that he considered her to be an “old bag” and was “infatuated” with one of his staff members, a court has heard.

A defamation trial brought by Burston against Hanson began in the federal court on Monday over a series of what he argues are allegations of sexual harassment made against him on social media, in interviews and in a text to his wife, Rosalyn.

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Friendlyjordies: John Barilaro to be paid $715,000 by Google over YouTube videos

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Tech giant and comedian Jordan Shanks may face contempt of court charges over videos published during trial

Google has been ordered to pay former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro more than $700,000 over a series of “racist” and “abusive” videos published on YouTube channel Friendlyjordies.

On Monday, federal court justice Stephen Rares ruled that Barilaro had been left “traumatised” by a campaign of “relentless cyberbullying” by comedian Jordan Shanks, who uses the nom de plume Friendlyjordies

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Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial: witness expected to deny wrongdoing in killing of Afghan villager

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Person 11 to give evidence on allegation by newspapers that Roberts-Smith kicked handcuffed man off cliff before ordering him shot

An Australian soldier alleged by three newspapers to have participated with Ben Roberts-Smith in the “joint criminal enterprise” of murdering an Afghan villager named Ali Jan is set to appear in the federal court this week as a witness for Roberts-Smith in his defamation action against the newspapers.

Anonymised before the court as Person 11, the SAS’s soldier evidence will be critical to Roberts-Smith’s case over the events in the village of Darwan on 11 September 2012, when Roberts-Smith is alleged, by the newspapers in their defence, to have kicked a handcuffed Ali Jan off a cliff before ordering him shot.

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Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial: former patrol commander denies ordering execution of elderly prisoner

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Ex-soldier known as Person 5 denies allegation put by lawyers acting for newspapers

Ben Roberts-Smith’s former patrol commander has denied in court accusations he ordered the execution of an elderly Afghan prisoner discovered hiding in a tunnel – in an alleged “blooding” of a junior soldier.

The retired soldier, anonymised before the court as Person 5, was directly challenged on Tuesday by lawyers for three newspapers being sued by Roberts-Smith: “You told [soldier] Person 4 to murder the old man.”

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WA premier described Clive Palmer as ‘the worst Australian who’s not in jail’ in text messages

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Mark McGowan also thanked media mogul Kerry Stokes for ‘marvellous front pages’ attacking Palmer in 2020, court hears in defamation case

The Western Australia premier, Mark McGowan, privately described mining billionaire Clive Palmer as “the worst Australian who’s not in jail” in text messages revealed in court during their defamation trial.

The premier was grilled on Wednesday about his personal communications regarding Palmer while being cross-examined in the federal court in Sydney.

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Rebekah Vardy said she would ‘love’ to leak stories about Coleen Rooney to media

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Vardy is suing Rooney for libel over allegation that Vardy leaked stories from Rooney’s private Instagram account

Rebekah Vardy said she would “love” to leak stories about Coleen Rooney to the media, according to messages disclosed at the high court.

The court filings suggest Vardy and her former agent Caroline Watt had an ongoing relationship with reporters at the Sun newspaper and discussed at length how to leak stories to the tabloid.

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Peter Dutton accuses Shane Bazzi of malice over abusive tweets in defamation case

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Defence minister cites activist’s tweet labelling him ‘fucken scumbag’ and ‘rape apologist’

Peter Dutton has accused refugee activist Shane Bazzi of showing malice, in the minister’s defamation suit, citing a tweet labelling him a “cunt” and a “fucken scumbag”.

Dutton is suing Bazzi over a tweet labelling him a “rape apologist”, making good on his threats to pursue social media users for allegedly false and defamatory statements.

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The attorney general v the ABC

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Christian Porter is suing the ABC for defamation over an article reporting that an anonymous senior cabinet minister had been accused of rape in 1988. Porter later identified himself as the minister in question and strenuously denied the allegation. Paul Karp explores how this case could play out, and whether Porter can continue to do his job while fighting to clear his name

The crisis support and suicide prevention service Lifeline can contacted on 13 11 14. Support for sexual assault is available at 1800RESPECT.

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Amber Heard ‘placing faith in justice’ as Depp lawyer calls her an abuser

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High court hears closing remarks in three-week libel case exposing couple’s relationship

Amber Heard has spoken of her trauma at reliving the breakup of her marriage, saying she is “placing her faith in British justice” as Johnny Depp’s lawyer branded her a “compulsive liar” and the “abuser” in the couple’s relationship.

As the libel action brought by Depp against the publishers of the Sun newspaper ended on Tuesday, Heard was booed and heckled by Depp fans who have gathered daily outside the high court in London for the proceedings over allegations that the Pirates of the Caribbean star had been violent towards her.

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Johnny Depp’s libel case against the Sun adjourned

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Actor is suing paper over claims he was violent and abusive toward ex-wife Amber Heard

Johnny Depp’s libel case against the Sun over allegations he was violent and abusive towards his ex-wife Amber Heard, which was due to begin on Monday, has been adjourned to a later date.

Mr Justice Nicol made the announcement at the high court on Friday. “I have reached the reluctant conclusion that the trial does have to be adjourned,” he said.

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Why is Meghan suing the Mail on Sunday?

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Action comes after newspaper has published numerous embarrassing stories about her

The Mail on Sunday (MoS) published numerous embarrassing stories about Meghan in the run-up to her wedding to Prince Harry. Many of them required the cooperation of Meghan’s estranged father, Thomas Markle, who helped the newspaper produce numerous articles including staged paparazzi photos.

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Woman behind ‘French #MeToo’ found guilty of defaming media executive

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Sandra Muller calls verdict in favour of Eric Brion ‘backwards step’ and vows to appeal

A woman who launched a French version of the #MeToo campaign to expose abusive male behaviour has been found guilty of defaming a media executive she accused of making lewd and sexist remarks.

Sandra Muller said Eric Brion had humiliated her with sexual remarks at a function in Cannes in 2012. She was ordered to pay €15,000 in damages to the executive and €5,000 in legal fees, and was also told to delete a tweet about him and publish the statements issued by the court on her Twitter account and in two press outlets.

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Tommy Robinson given nine-month jail sentence for contempt of court

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Far-right activist will serve 10 weeks after being found guilty of breaching reporting ban

Tommy Robinson has been given a nine-month prison sentence – of which he will serve about 10 weeks – after he was found guilty of contempt of court at an earlier hearing.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, broadcast reports that encouraged “vigilante action” and “unlawful physical” aggression against defendants in a sexual exploitation trial, according to the judges who found him guilty last week.

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