This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Lord Advocate calls for dialogue with media
19/02/2002
The media can undermine public confidence in the rule of law if it uses damaging and unjustified stereotypes of judges, Scotland's most senior law officer claimed tonight.
In a lecture for the Howard League for Penal Reform, the Lord Advocate Colin Boyd QC called for a better dialogue with the media to help promote public confidence in the judicial system.
Acknowledging that the freedom of the press to inform and criticise was fundamental to any democracy, Mr Boyd said:
"In general, we in Scotland enjoy a responsible media. And while, in general, the public will scrutinize and evaluate what it is told, some will receive the editorial line like a tablet of stone and will readily and uncritically adopt the tabloid view. And there lies the danger. There the vulnerability.
"Fat cat lawyers, inept prosecutors, crooked defence lawyers, senile judges, corrupt policemen, mobsters and sex beasts are all familiar figures in the pages of the tabloid press and so in the public mind. Such stereotypes do not serve the public well. They do not reflect reality; they promote an unfounded lack of confidence in the judicial system and they lead to unwarranted fear and mistrust.
"There is one stereotype which I consider is particularly damaging. It is the way in which the judiciary are sometimes depicted, mostly in the tabloid press. I am not for one moment suggesting that the judiciary are immune from criticism. Nor should we be too squeamish if at times the criticism appears robust. But we should be concerned about headlines and articles, which appear to hold judges up to ridicule, are personally derogatory, undermine their authority, or have the effect of lowering their standing in the eyes of the public.
"With these sorts of stories we do, I believe, enter dangerous territory. Freedom and the rule of law are of fundamental importance in a democracy. Upholding the law can be inconvenient and controversial. Of necessity judges must from time to time take decisions which are unpopular. And, of course they are not in a position to answer their critics.
"To be well informed and well equipped to participate in democratic debate, the public relies upon the media for accurate information. Without a balanced approach by the media there is a risk, indeed a likelihood, of ill-informed opinion. Achieving an appropriate balance makes demands on journalists, it requires not only a willingness to embrace this responsibility but also an understanding of the complexities of the issues.
"There are, of course, pressures on the media just as there are pressures on the judicial system. There are deadlines and targets to be achieved, and the business is to sell newspapers and achieve ratings. Faced with such pressures there may be a temptation to restrict the focus of the investigation, to rush to conclusions, to avoid consideration of the complexities, and to resort to these well-used stereotypes. There is always the temptation to distort reality to achieve the sexy soundbite or the sensational headline."
In the Kenneth Younger Memorial Lecture in the Playfair Library in Edinburgh, Mr Boyd also addressed the issue of the televising court cases. He said it could be a powerful tool in communicating the role and function of the courts but stressed that further developments would need to be carefully handled to avoid the dangers that the OJ Simpson trial highlighted in the United States.
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