I was checking the RNZ bulletins and happened to notice an item about the suspension of a celebrity trial. The circumstances were unusual enough to make me want to read the brief item. What piqued my curiosity was not the allegations themselves, but the complete and total suppression of everything having to do with the individual and even the reasons for stopping the current trial. Even by the usual standards here, this seemed a little over the top.
It was enough to make me want to look further, and in less than 10 minutes of fairly casual Googling I had a pretty good idea who the person was. In fact, I am certain I know, I just can’t prove it at this moment.
What interests me about this is not the identity of the individual, or the nature of the allegations. As an immigrant with little knowledge of NZ television culture, I had no idea who the person was even after I knew the name, though others would probably recognise it.
What does interest me, and what makes this relevant to Geekzone, is how easy current communications technology makes it it for anyone, even an outsider, to learn the details of almost any suppressed court process. I doubt the judges who issue suppression orders fully appreciate this and when they finally do, I wonder what effect that may have.
I was able to learn what I needed to know to identify the person within just a few minutes by skimming a couple of social media sites where the matter was being discussed. This not only gave me some useful clues, but even instructions on how and where to apply them. Yet I am fairly certain nothing that was said on any of those message boards would have constituted a violation of the suppression orders. Everything mentioned was already public knowledge. Nothing directly gave it away.
Suppression orders seem to make up a significant part of New Zealand jurisprudence. They are supposed to help to ensure fair justice and the protection of the innocent. However, I think far too much faith is placed in them. Anyone who wants to can easily find out who the subject of any suppression order is. So what is the point of them? What protection do they offer other than a false sense of security? I think the justice system here needs to accept that these don’t work anymore and that something else is required.