SUPPRESSION OF NAMES
A MAGISTRATE EXPLAINS. DECISION ON MERITS. An explanat’on of some of the- reasons which prompted magistrates and judges to suppress the names of ccr tain offenders in tre law 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 Offender-: Probation Act which gives- power for the suppression of names has given the Courts more trouble and difficulty than any other -sect’on* of the Act,” said Mr. Mosley. “Speaking as a magistrate, 1 would- not be Without the section, which must be administered with discretion. Personally I think that a name should not be published where the offender is of tender age—under 21 years,—or in, exceptional circumstances. This is ohe of the rules I work on.”
Th-e speaker contended that w'here probation, .was extended to an individual it might be necessary in the interests of such a person to, ondqr the :s|uppression of his or hpr namte 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 be suppressed by law. “No general rule cap be laid down for tihe guidance, of the' Courts >n, the suppression of names,” stated •Mr. Mosley. “Each, case must be treated on its merits. Publication I s 'in some degree a method of punishment and a measure of protection for thej public. The Courts are tn, existence for the protection of the public, for the prevention of wrong-doing, and for the reformation a»d redemption of the offender.
“We hope in the end to strike at the very roots of crimin.al'ity, and thus do away with a. good many of the magistrates and judges ; but lb think that we will be heeded for a good many years yet.”
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Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5304, 25 July 1928, Page 3
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346SUPPRESSION OF NAMES Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5304, 25 July 1928, Page 3
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