JuridicsCanada: TV show blocked: Court blacks-out American TV network coverage of murder case

Here's a truly difficult case of a court faced with sticking to a h+ view of freedom of speech and expression, or preventing a broadcast that coud influence jurors and hence the outcome of a h+ profile murder case before the court.  That's the infamous Twitchell case.   Montreal Gazette is the provenance of the news story, but the URL for the live link has gone dead, I'm afraid - Story - News - Montreal Gazette.

Canadians blocked from viewing 

ABC program on Twitchell case

BY MARIAM IBRAHIM, EDMONTONJOURNAL.COM MARCH 19, 2011

• STORY
• PHOTOS ( 1 )

Mark Twitchell is shown in a court sketch in Edmonton court on March 14, 2011.

Photograph by: Amanda McRoberts, Global Edmonton, edmontonjournal.com

EDMONTON — Canadians were blocked from viewing Friday night’s episode of the ABC News magazine program 20/20 featuring the case of accused killer Mark Twitchell because of a publication ban concerning the ongoing trial.

Instead of the program, a message was broadcast by the Canadian distribution channel, Shaw TV, apologizing for the inconvenience.

“Due to a publication ban concerning the content of tonight’s episode of ABC’s 20/20 as it relates to the ongoing Twitchell murder trial in Edmonton, tonight’s episode is not available for viewing in Canada,” the message read. “We apologize for the inconvenience.”

The episode was censored in Canada to prevent the jury from 

viewing evidence before it is heard in court or learning information 

that could influence the outcome of the trial.

Twitchell, a 31-year-old city filmmaker, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Johnny Altinger. Twitchell is accused of luring Altinger to a Mill Woods garage in October 2008 before killing him, dismembering his body and dumping the remains down a sewer.

In September 2008, Twitchell made a short film at the garage, in 

which a killer lures a male victim to a location using an Internet 

dating service.

....

mibrahim@edmontonjournal.com

twitter.com/mariam_di

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Canadians+blocked+from+viewing+program+Twitchell+case/4472299/story.html#ixzz1IRlDJ2eP

-- Montreal Gazette material posted by Lawt