Five mistakes new reporters make in court — and how to avoid them

Court reporting is one of the best jobs in journalism. You get a ringside seat at the sharp end of the justice system, you file copy that matters, and you learn something new most days. It is also one of the easiest places to make a mistake that ends in a correction, a complaint, or something considerably worse.

Most errors new reporters make in court are not the product of carelessness. They come from not knowing the rules, filing in a hurry, or being too embarrassed to ask a question of a clerk who already looks busy. Here are the five that turn up again and again, and how to sidestep them.

1. Forgetting that the case is still live

The biggest risk in court reporting is contempt. Once proceedings are active, you must not publish anything that creates a substantial risk of serious prejudice or impediment to those proceedings. Proceedings become active at arrest, the issue of a summons or warrant, or the service of an indictment, and they stay active until the case is concluded. The test is a legal one, and it is easy to fail without meaning to.

In practice it usually looks like this: a defendant's previous convictions in paragraph four. A photograph of someone who may later stand on an identification parade. A "background" piece assembled from social media. A tearful account from a witness that the jury has not yet heard. A quote from a victim's relative that reads like a verdict before the jury has reached one.

What to hold back while a case is active

• Previous convictions or bad character, unless they have been put before the jury in open court.
• Photographs or descriptions of a defendant where identification is in dispute.
• Anything told to you outside court by a witness, police officer or relative.
• Material that identifies a complainant in a sexual offence case. That anonymity begins with the allegation and lasts for life.
• Details of jury deliberations, which must never be reported.
• Anything covered by a reporting restriction order or a statutory provision.

Defendants under 18 in the youth court are anonymous automatically, and courts can impose restrictions in adult courts too. If you are unsure what applies, ask the clerk before you file. There is no prize for guessing, and a contempt finding is a serious matter.

2. Misquoting the charge

Crime reporting lives or dies on precision. Robbery and burglary are not interchangeable. Neither are murder and manslaughter, theft and handling stolen goods, or charged and convicted.

Get the exact wording from the court list, the charge sheet, or by asking. Write it down verbatim, then make sure your verb matches the stage the case has reached:

• arrested on suspicion of an offence
• charged with an offence
• appeared before magistrates accused of an offence
• pleaded guilty to or denied an offence
• convicted of, or acquitted of, an offence
• sentenced to a penalty

A person who has been charged has not committed anything. A person who was acquitted was found not guilty, and describing them as innocent is a stylistic choice some newsrooms avoid. Even small verbs carry weight: "admitted" is fine after a guilty plea, while "claimed" smuggles in a sneer you may not have intended.

3. Getting names, ages and addresses wrong

Names generate more corrections than anything else in local news, and they cause the most damage. Court lists are typed by humans and contain typos. Defendants share names with entirely innocent people. One misspelled surname can put an unrelated reader in the frame.

Take the name from the court, not from your ear. If you are unsure of a spelling, ask during a break rather than after you have filed. Record the full address and date of birth where they are given, so you can tell two people with the same name apart, and be careful with age. Is the defendant 34 now, or were they 34 when the offence happened? If it was years ago, say so.

4. Leaving before the end

The verdict is not the story. The sentence is. So are the compensation order, the driving disqualification, the restraining order, and the date the case comes back.

New reporters often file at the adjournment and miss the fact that the defendant was remanded in custody, or that a warrant was issued, or that the case was sent to the Crown Court for a particular date. Readers need all of it. Before you leave, check:

• What happened to each defendant, separately, in a case with more than one?
• What is the sentence, or what is the next step, and on what date?
• Were there any ancillary orders: costs, compensation, disqualification, restraining order?
• Did the judge or the bench say anything quotable?
• Are reporting restrictions in force, and do any of them lift at a later point?

If you genuinely have to go early, tell the clerk, ask what you have missed, and ring the court afterwards to confirm the outcome. Better still, stay.

5. Treating the courtroom like a café

Small habits mark out a reporter who knows what they are doing.

• Arrive early and introduce yourself to the usher.
• Sit in the press bench unless you are told otherwise.
• Phones on silent. Photography and audio recording are prohibited without permission, and live text-based reporting needs the judge's express consent. Ask first, every time.
• Do not approach jurors, witnesses or defendants in the building.
• Do not chat during proceedings. Wait for a natural break.
• Take notes you can actually read later. You cannot publish what you cannot verify.

Court staff are used to reporters asking basic questions. The clerk can confirm the charge, the spelling of a name, the sentence and any restrictions. Asking takes thirty seconds. A correction takes considerably longer, and a legal complaint can take months.

Before you file: a quick check

1. Is the case still active, and is everything in my copy safe to publish if it is?
2. Is the charge wording exact, and is my verb right for this stage?
3. Has every name, age and address been checked against a source I trust?
4. Do I have the outcome for each defendant, plus the next date?
5. Are there restrictions that bite on what I have written, including anything that could identify a complainant by combining details?
6. If I am unsure about any of the above, have I asked the clerk or the duty lawyer?

Court reporting rewards patience and precision more than flair. Reporters who avoid these five mistakes are the ones desks trust with the big trials, because editors know the copy will stand up. And if a story raises a genuine legal question, take advice from your newsroom's lawyer before publication rather than deciding it yourself. A pause costs you a minute; a contempt finding or a defamation claim costs a great deal more.

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