Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Bill Hodge: Retired Law Professor talks the issues with name suppression rules in our justice system

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Bill Hodge: Retired Law Professor talks the issues with name suppression rules in our justice system · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The mobrains reckon, we need to change our suppression laws.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: They're calling out people on TikTok for putting Matt Mowbray
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: at the center of child abuse material case. This is
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: the guy. You might have seen it in the news.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Jaild has permanent name suppression. Media describes them as an
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: unnamed member of a wealthy Kiwi family. So people online
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: start having their reckons as they wanted to do the wrong.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Retired law professor Bill Hodges with us this morning.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Bill, good morning, good morning to you.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: The mobrays have a point.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: Here, Oh, of course they do. Of course they do.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: They've got a very good point. But this has been
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: the stand. It's not new. It's not as if they've
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: just invented this issue. It's been long understood that when
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: one person's name is suppressed, other people in the same
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: general category are under suspicion and rumors go around. For example,
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: if you said a music teacher in a high school
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: has been arrested, in charge, etc. Then every music teacher
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: in every high school is now under suspicion and has
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: to start to try to clear themselves. Happily, the Mowbrays
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: seem to be able to give enough facts to absolutely
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: shut down the rumor because of the clear contradictions that
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: he's sout. But some people can't, and it is an issue.
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: And I think the problem is that instead of starting
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: with the principle of open justice, that the courts should
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: be transparent, the principles of justice should be available to
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: the people so that they can know who is in
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: the court and why is in the court, with very
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: specific and narrow exceptions. Isn't it pretty the victims? Yeah?
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Bill? Is there a difference here between somebody who
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: is convicted of a crime in somebody and I know
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: in this case that they were found guilty, but merely
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: being charged with a crime. You know, why don't we
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: just say someone's been charged with a crime, not tell
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: you who they work for, that they're wealthy, what their
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: name is, anything like that.
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: Generally we should know who was in the court. I
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: can remember a few years ago, before your time, that
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: the Labor government passed the statute providing for that for
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: absolute name suppression. Not long afterwards, you won't remember this,
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: but a labor MP was involved with two boys in
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: a motel room and the name was suppressed, and suddenly
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: every single Labor MP was saying no it's not me, No, no,
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: it's not me. So there's still the aspersion and the
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: rumor and the taint on the reputation of all the
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: people in the same category. I think we should know.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: Who was in the court, What can we do, what
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: can the mobras do? And like, if you are in
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: the situation where you're named in correctly, what requels do
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: you have?
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: Well, first of all, I think you say this person
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: is convicted. I think there's an appeal still going either
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: by you people or by the crown that's going on
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: on to the next level that the name should not
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: be permanently suppressed, although I am aware of some cases
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: that are because of some political appearance. In this case,
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: if the Mowbrays have a defendant, and I'm not really
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: sure how the concept of TikTok other social media can
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: be brought to bear. If there's a name associated with publication,
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: that's a good defamation action depending on exactly what was said.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: Bill, Appreciate your time, Bill Hodge retired law provisa. For
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: more familiar edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live to news Talks.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: It'd be from five am weekdays, or follow the podcast
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: on iHeartRadio.