Twitter Joke Trial

Can’t believe I’ve not got round to blogging about this yet. As you may be aware, a chap called Paul Chambers sent what he says is a joke message to his girlfriend on Twitter. It read as follows:

“Cr! Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your sh together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!”. (Asterisks are mine, by the way).

The tweet was apparently a reaction to the airport’s closure preventing Mr Chambers from seeing his girlfriend.

He was prosecuted under s127 Communications Act 2003 for improper use of [a] public electronic communications network, found guilty by Doncaster Magistrates’ Court, and fined. He also lost his job as a result.

Section 127 states:

(1)A person is guilty of an offence if he—

(a)sends by means of a public electronic communications network a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character; or

(3)A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or to both.

The CPS clearly believed the message to be of a “menacing character” for the purposes of the Act.

Paul Chambers was tried and found guilty of this offence, initially in the Magistrates’ Court. A subsequent appeal to Crown Court, heard by District Judge Jacqueline Wilson and two Magistrates failed, burdening Mr Chambers with a further £3,000 in costs. Mr Chambers will now appeal by way of case stated to the High Court.

The case raises various important issues for A Level Law students. There is an obvious issue of statutory interpretation here - Paul’s lawyer, David Green (also known as outstanding law blogger @jackofkent) points out that the section in question originally had quite a different intention behind it - and it is also an excellent example of criminal appeals for students to follow. Furthermore, it is interesting to speculate what a jury would have made of this. There is also a celebrity angle - Stephen Fry has promised to pay Chambers’ fine. And, of course, the case raise interesting questions about freedom of speech, social media, and balancing security and liberty.