Court Hearing Stopped Over Suspect Noixes

In late November 2022 when the United States was building up to their thanksgiving festivities, their well-earned time off, preparing to enjoy turkey and watch American Football. However, 21st November 2022 was also known for a case that hit the headlines and was reportedly heard at Sheffield Crown Court. The case grabbed the attention of the Crown Court judge when loud noises which appeared to be emanating from a loud pornographic movie could be heard over the audio system of Crown Court and were being broadcast to the court. 

What Happened In The Case?

Now under normal circumstances, this would have just been your normal, innocuous court hearing During the hearing, thirteen persons appeared to have been facing allegations and charges about the smuggling of illicit substances and a piece of telecommunications equipment into a prison establishment in the dock and alongside a court prison officer. However, what drew the attention of the media to the case was the circumstances surrounding the court hearing. The proceedings were running smoothly enough until the judge all suddenly decided to promptly suspend the live case being heard in his court. This was after he had seemingly observed that a hell of a racket was being heard in the background which appears to have caught the attention of the court. What raised the concerns of the judge was the fact that the commotion appeared to have been emanating from a pornographic movie which appears to have been playing in the background whilst the hearing was ongoing. By way of emphasis and in context the volume had been set so loudly that it could be overheard on the crown court’s live video broadcasting system. This system makes it easier for the judiciary to adjudicate cases in the modern world.          

What Did The Court Say?                

On hearing the commotion in the background during the video hearing the judge attempted to see where the noises were emanating from and tried with some noticeable anguish to ask whoever was responsible for causing such an unprofessional disturbance in his court to set the offending microphone to silent mode. However, his reasonable request was not responded to and the judge decided to terminate the court hearing. The extent of the judge’s anger at the conduct of the responsible person he decided that no further hearings about the case would be via live video hearing. He ordered all future hearings to be heard in open court in his presence to mitigate the risk of such disturbances taking place in future hearings in connection with the matter. However, the judge decided to go further than this and ordered that all unrelated matters scheduled to be heard by him in his court would not be heard in live open court.

Who Dunnit?

The Crown Court launched an investigation into the events which had taken place and the offending movie soundtrack was eventually traced to a computer which seemingly belonged to one of the legal representatives who was involved in the case. By way of explanation, the legal professional affected offered their sincere apologies to the judge and claimed that their computer equipment had been the target of unscrupulous computer hackers. 

Way Forward…

Legal professions and the upper echelons of the judiciary in England and Wales have been advised by the investigators to be very cautious when insisting that all hearings should be of an in-person nature. This is primarily because of the immense backlog which has emerged over the last few years. They have been advised to use platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams as they are more secure and less prone to cyber-attacks.     

ASSESSING FIRMS

#BlakeMorganLLP #Clyde&CoLLP #CapsticksLLP #Hempsons #KingsleyNapleyLLP #RadcliffeLeBrrasseurLLP #BatesWells #BrownJacobson #CMS #DACBeachcroft #Fieldfisher #HerbertSmithFreehills #RussellCookeLLP #BlackfordsLLP #KeoghsLLP 

THE ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN USING THE FOLLOWING SOURCES 

[SOURCE 1] Hill, Caroline – ‘Judge halts court case and bans video proceedings because ‘noisy porn’ heard during hearing’ – 21 November 2022 – Legal Insider - Judge halts court case and bans video proceedings because ‘noisy porn’ heard during the hearing - Legal IT Insider (legaltechnology.com)

[SOURCE 2] Ames, Jonathan – Sound of pornography causes judge to halt case – The Times – 19 November 2022 - Sound of pornography causes judge to halt court case | News | The Times

[SOURCE 3] Reynolds, James – ‘Judge has to halt court hearing as ‘loud and obvious’ pornography is heard playing through a solicitor’s computer’ – 20 November 2022 – Daily Mail - Judge halts court hearing as 'loud and obvious' pornography is heard through a solicitor's computer  | Daily Mail Online