Tweet Justice

Following the decision of the judge in the Julian Assange bail hearing to allow live “tweeting” from Court, those people stubbornly clinging to the view that twitter is only for self-obsessed celebrities tweeting about what they had for breakfast really are going to have to rethink. Twitter has now made it as far as the Lord Chief Justice himself. Lord Judge has issued interim guidance on the matter which appears to permit the use of twitter in Court as long as it does not “interfere with the administration of justice”.

Traditionally, photography and sound recordings are not permitted, and this remains the case. However, Lord Judge appears, pending a forthcoming consultation on the matter, to be happy to permit the “unobtrusive” use of twitter on application in the interests of open justice. Guardian article here.

A welcome development, or the start of the slippery slope to TV coverage, jurors on chat shows, and an American-style TV circus around high-profile court cases?

Whatever you and your students may think, it’s a nice example of law attempting to move with the times, and may lead to proper law reform on the matter in the near future.
Afua Hirsch has an excellent blogpost on the dilemmas of tweeting in Court here.

I have mentioned Twitter for teachers before. I still think it’s a powerful source of new ideas and free CPD, and it’s also great for making contacts with people like guest speakers and industry insiders who can enrich the lives of your students, so get tweeting! It’s all about who you follow, and Jim (@tutor2U) has posted some good suggestions on the Business Studies blog which make a good starting point

Season’s greetings from @lawteacher !