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Decisions seem to be based on public pressure or context. The man posting the picture of poppy's burning was arrested because it was Remembrance Day. Because of
by brackin 14y ago
Decisions seem to be based on public pressure or context. The man posting the picture of poppy's burning was arrested because it was Remembrance Day. Because of common law these cases are each setting precedence. Although many may believe it wouldn't go farther than this. There's nothing stopping judges ruling that publicly disagreeing with a political party or common held belief is a form of defamation.
If people rally around a case the police and courts are forced to react with harsh sentencing. Morally these people are in the wrong but a moral justification is different to a legal one.
Paul Chambers was found guilty for sending menacing electronic communication. He tweeted that he would blow up Robin Hood Airport when it closed after heavy snow. I've seen worse sarcastic tweets than this in my stream before, after the listed cases these tweets could result in legal action.
- aes256 14y ago> Decisions seem to be based on public pressure or context. That in itself is quite alarming, that the justice system seems to be bowing to the whim of the mob. More worrying is that, in each of these cases, there were people who initially brought the communications to the attention of the police. In each case there was some busybody, with nothing better to do, who thought some hijinks on the Internet was worthy of a police investigation. I have no doubt that the number of these cases being reported in the national news (at a rate of one every 1-2 weeks over the last six months) is re-enforcing the view that reporting offensive content to the police is an appropriate and proportionate action. > Paul Chambers was found guilty for sending menacing electronic communication. Chambers' conviction was quashed in July, in a rare display of common sense.