R v AA, AS, MH & OM [2009] NSWDC 25

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: R v AA, AS, MH & OM [2009] NSWDC 25 This decision has been amended. Please see the end of the judgment for a list of the amendments.

HEARING DATE(S): 20/2/2009

JUDGMENT DATE: 20 February 2009

JURISDICTION: District Court of NSW

JUDGMENT OF: Cogswell SC DCJ at 1

DECISION: Application to exclude the media from the court under s10(1)(b) of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 is granted.

CATCHWORDS: Criminal law - Sentence - Juvenile offenders - Aggravated sexual intercourse with a child between 10 and 14 years - Alleged identification of offenders by the media - Application to exclude the media from the court - Protection of children - Public interest in court proceedings

LEGISLATION CITED: Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 Evidence Act 1995

PARTIES: Regina AS, AS, MH & OM

FILE NUMBER(S): 2008/10599; 2008/10600; 2008/10601; 2008/10602

Mr P Thompson for the NSW DPP Ms J Gallagher for OM COUNSEL: Ms P David for MH Mr L Brasch for AA Ms D Maher for AS

SOLICITORS: Ms D Maher for AS

JUDGMENT

1. The judgment which I am now giving raises a conflict between two very important public interests. One of the public interests is the press covering court proceedings. That includes, of course, members of the press having access to court in order to report on the proceedings. Courts have, in this jurisdiction, been open to the public. The competing public interest which is raised is the interest which the community has in the care and welfare of its children.

2. Those competing public interests have been dealt with in the Act of Parliament which specifically covers children who are prosecuted for criminal offences. That is the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987. The interests of children who are prosecuted for crimes are acknowledged in that Act of Parliament. In fact, the Act of Parliament requires courts to exercise their functions, having regard to a list of principles contained in s 6 of the Act.