- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Whaleoil harpooned and found guilty of breaching suppression orders


Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater guilty
Controversial blogger Cameron Slater has been convicted of illegally identifying several high profile New Zealanders protected by name suppression orders.

Slater has been an advocate of name suppression law reform, claiming the secrecy protection is given far too easily by the courts, particularly to politicians, sports stars and media celebrities.

This afternoon at the Auckland District Court he was convicted of eight counts of breaching name suppression orders and one count of identifying a victim in a sex case on his Whale Oil blog.

One charge of breaching name suppression orders was dismissed by Judge David Harvey today.

He was fined $750 for each count, a total amount to $6250, and ordered to pay $130 court costs for each charge.

This afternoon Judge Harvey delivered a verbal judgement to the court, first pausing to hand out a disk to Slater containing his findings in PDF format.

"I know his penchant for things digital".

Judge Harvey said the case was not the opportunity to debate whether certain suppression orders should have been granted.

"The behaviour alleged was that the defendant Mr Slater breached non publication orders from various cases form the district court and in one case the high court."

Judge Harvey said the internet made everyone a publisher and with that came responsibility.

"One of those responsibilities is to abide by the law. You have chosen to use your website, blog for the purposes of a political campaign and that is absolutely legitimate.I have no quibble with that.

"But the fact of the matter is you stepped over the lines when you chose to publish names subject to non-publication orders.

"You made value judgements about the names you were going to publish and those you were not.

"You set yourself up as a judge and jury knowing those names were subject to orders but willing to flout the law notwithstanding.

"I don't imagine anything which happens today or is about to happen today will change your point of view but I hope it will change your behaviour."


There was just no way he was going to walk from this, and the $7000 fine is a hard smack from the Court stamping it's authority online. Cam will be on this weeks Citizen A, 7pm Thursday Triangle TV for the autopsy reaction and what this ruling means for the wider blogosphere.
Full judgement.

6 Comments:

At 14/9/10 6:31 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You say brown people are too lazy to vote in south auckland and this is wot happens.

 
At 14/9/10 6:54 pm, Blogger Writer Of The Purple Sage said...

Couldn't have happened to a nicer blogger...and to try dodges like "the law doesn't apply to me becoz my blog is based in another country"... and "I'm not in control of what I post, becoz I suffer from depression" was desperate and pathetic.
Justice has been served and yet, trying to laugh it all off, he blogs that it was a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket. Bloody expensive bus ticket!

 
At 14/9/10 9:28 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Harsh call on a man plagued by mental illness.
Depression is a sickness.
Whaleoil is sick. Mentally.
Know him before you judge him.

 
At 15/9/10 12:16 am, Anonymous Simon said...

I'm having a little cry on the inside.

 
At 15/9/10 9:33 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Putting Cams' disgusting right wing politics aside, (Humm, thought right wing people were supposed to advocate personal responsibility? or is that just for when they bash dole bludgers?)

Putting Depression aside, (Unless you have psychosis attached as well? then you have a good excuse.)

There IS a point to Cams releasing these names, I believe it was in protest of the over use of name suppression. And it is a valid point. Justice for the rich. In-justice for the poor.

Now as a good right wing-nut, time for Cam to pay his fines, suggest a whip round of the hat and see just how much support he really has. I pledge a dollar. now for 6249 other people to come to the party. Court costs are your own buddy, that's the cost of fame.

 
At 15/9/10 12:58 pm, Anonymous Hungry Bear said...

@ Philbee

I challenge you to show us a anywhere that Whaleoil has ever said:
"I'm not in control of what I post, becoz I suffer from depression".

It shouldn't be to hard for you seeing as it appears you are quoting him directly.

Or, just maybe, you are one more moron on the internet who doesn't understand how to quote properly.

And here's a hint: you will NEVER find any quote like that on the Whaleoil site because he doesn't say anything like - quite the opposite in fact.

If anyone here is desperate and pathetic it's you - having to put words into someone else's man so you can play the internet big man you sad tool.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home