A 77-YEAR-OLD man who recorded a court session because he was struggling to hear – without realising it was illegal – has been fined.
Nigel Dodds was in the public gallery at the Royal Court in December when he began to record using his mobile phone during the sentencing of twins Erin Robyn Bisson and Richard Anthony Bisson, who made hundreds of “appalling” abusive calls to the emergency services from 2022 to the start of 2023.
Mr Dodds committed the contempt of court, despite various signs in the court building indicating that mobile phones were not to be used, and a warning to all present in court from the usher at the beginning of the hearing.
When Mr Dodds’ recording came to the court’s attention, the sentencing was “halted” and Mr Dodds was immediately called before the Deputy Bailiff and asked to take an oath.
Mr Dodds admitted that he had recorded around “two or three minutes” of the proceedings to be able to listen to it at home. He then apologised for doing so and handed over his phone.
When a police officer surveyed it, he found that the recording was only one minute 39 seconds and only consisted of the Greffier reading the charges. The recording was then deleted by Mr Dodds.
Mr Dodds was then asked to reappear before the court on 14 December.
Crown Advocate Adam Harrison explained that there can be very serious consequences if material recorded in court leaks into the public domain – for example, if the victim in a sexual offence case is named.
However, the court – formed of Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae, sitting with Jurats Elizabeth Dulake and Mike Berry – heard that Mr Dodds did not share the recording with any third parties.
Mr Dodds, who was represented by Advocate George Pearce, was described as being of good character.
A doctor’s note shared with the court indicated that he had poor hearing and that he had been struggling to follow what was said.
In a written judgment, the Royal Court said that this was “no excuse”, but accepted it as “mitigation” as it imposed a penalty of £400.
