SUPPRESSED NAMES
♦ RULES OF THE COURTS A MAGISTRATE EXPLAINS DECISION OF MERITS . (By Telegraph.) (Special to "The Evening Post") CHBISTCHURCH, This Day. An explanation of some of the reasons which prompted Magistrates and Judges to suppress the- names of certain offenders in! the la^- Courts was given by Mr. E. D. Mosley, S.M., in an address on "Probation" to the Christchurch branch of the Howard League for Penal Reform. "The section of the First Offenders Probation Act which gives power for the suppression of names has given the Courts more trouble and difficulty than any other section of the Act," said Mr. Mosley. "Speaking as a Magistrate, I would not bo without the section, which must bo administered with discretion. Personally I think that a name should not be published where the offender is of tender age—under twenty-one years— or in exceptional circumstances. This is one of the rules I work on." The speaker continued that where probation was extended to an individual it might be necessary in the interests of such a person to order the suppression of his or her name if the crime were of such a nature that in the public interest the name should not be suppressed. Even some lawyers did" not know that the Court had no power to order suppression except in cases of offence punishable by imprisonment. . Where the penalty was a fine only, or a fine with an alternative of imprisonment, the name could not bo suppressed by law. ''No general ru]e can be laid down for the guidance of the Courts in the suppression of names," stated Mr. Mosley. "Each case must be treated on its merits. Publication is in some degree a method of punishment and a measure of protection for the public. The Courts are in existence for the protection of the public, for the prevention of wrong-doing, and for the reformation and redemption of the offender. "We hope in the end to strike at the very roots of criminality; and thus do away with a good many of the Magistrates and Judges; but I think that we will be needed for a good'many years yet."
S. P. Andrew, rhoto. I
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Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 13, 18 July 1928, Page 12
Word Count
363SUPPRESSED NAMES Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 13, 18 July 1928, Page 12
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