The Media and Child Identification In Criminal Proceedings

Sharon Rodrick, Monash University Faculty of Law, has published Open Justice, the Media and Identifying Children Involved in Criminal Proceedings at 15 Media and Arts Law Review 409 (2010). Here is the abstract.

The purpose of this article is to formulate an appropriate response to the issue of child identification in criminal contexts, in light of the dialogue that is taking place regarding the adoption of a nationally consistent approach. In the first part of this article, I explore the policy considerations for and against identifying child victims and offenders, and conclude that the arguments in favour of suppressing a child’s identity generally outweigh the arguments in favour of publishing a child’s identity. In the second part of the article, I critically examine the options for a national standard.I do so by critiquing the approaches currently taken in the Northern Territory, Victoria and New South Wales, being representative of the most disparate range of alternatives.

The article is not available from SSRN.