By Mohamed Mansaray

Journalism is a distinctive discipline and like most other sectors, it has its dos and don’ts. In this narrative, I shall be using my experience as a Court correspondent to share some valuable insights and guide colleagues who may want to report from the Court room. As a court correspondent or Legal Correspondent or court reporter as the case may be, you should know that you are reporting from the legal points of view and therefore you should be mindful of the Law. Court reporting is different from general reporting.
When once a matter is before the BENCH, either a Magistrate or a Judge, you should go by the dictates of the court. You should not write anything contrary to the court proceedings. If you do, you can be charged for Contempt of Court and this is where most Journalists comes in contact with the Law. For a story to be balanced, accurate and correct (ABC), it must involve the Five Ws and One H. Similarly, in court reporting, there are certain formats one should follow. STEPT 1: A name of the Presiding Magistrate or Judge. Name of the Accused Person, age, occupation and Address if any. Months or years of conviction or Imprisonment.
STEP 2: Statement of offence. An offence for which an accused person was charged to Court.
STEP 3: Particulars of Offence. This is the body of the story. It tells you what actually happened.
STEP 4: Plea mitigation of the Accused or Defence Counsel if any, the verdict of the Magistrate or Judge (ruling or judgement), name of Prosecutor (Police Officer) in the Lower Court and name of State Counsel in the High Court.
In the case of felonious offences such Treason, Murder, Manslaughter, Burglary, Store breaking and Larceny, Housebreaking and Larceny, Sexual offences are referred to as preliminary investigation (PI). The above matters are quickly looked into by the Magistrate, with sufficient evidences and then commit it to High Court for Trial. Matters of such nature are not adjudicated by the Magistrate in the Lower Court (Magistrate Court). It’s above the power of the Magistrate to Sentence on the above matters or do judgement but rather to commit it to High Court. No plea taken on such matters and no trial of the accused in the Magistrate Court.

Lastly, do more we do these things, the better we become and so, let’s keep tyring.