Mitchell appeal set to join Fraser on TV

Published on Friday 2 May 2008 23:37

THE result of Luke Mitchell's appeal against his conviction for murdering his girlfriend is likely to be broadcast on television.

The Scotsman understands that the BBC has applied to show the long-awaited decision in the Jodi Jones murder case.

The move emerged as the Scottish Court Service confirmed that an appeal ruling in the Nat Fraser case will be screened on television.

A cameraman, sound technician and photographer will be allowed into the High Court in Edinburgh for next week's hearing – providing rare coverage from inside a courtroom for television, radio and newspapers.

It will be only the third time that television cameras have been allowed into a Scottish court.

Fraser is in prison for the murder of his wife, Arlene, 33, who disappeared almost exactly ten years ago from the Moray town of Elgin.

She was last seen waving goodbye to her two children on 28 April, 1998. Her family believed that she would never have abandoned her children and were convinced that she had been murdered.

Although her body was never found, Fraser was found guilty of her murder, after one of the largest and most complex investigations mounted by Grampian Police. He was convicted on 30 January, 2003 and jailed for a minimum of 25 years, but launched an appeal, claiming that the Crown had withheld vital evidence.

His counsel claimed that he had been a victim of a miscarriage of justice, and that his trial had been a "farce".

The appeal decision is expected to be returned on Tuesday. The BBC yesterday confirmed that its cameras would be allowed into court to film the result. The broadcaster will film the ruling and transmit it to other channels.

The TV cameras will be allowed to focus only on the faces of the three appeal judges as they read out their ruling. They will not be allowed to show close-ups of Fraser in the dock or members of Mrs Fraser's family in the public gallery.

Judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh have been considering several grounds of appeal put forward by Mitchell's lawyers in February against his conviction for killing Jodi in 2003, when they were both 14.

No decision has been made as to whether cameras will be allowed to film the ruling. But a court source said that the broadcasting of proceedings was likely to become more common.

Cameras were barred from court until a ruling by Lord Hope in 1992 that they could be permitted provided they did not present a "risk to the administration of justice".

That meant they could be permitted to cover appeal rulings, where no jurors or witnesses were present. Since then, television cameras have been allowed in court twice – the appeal by the "ice-cream killings" accused TC Campbell and Joe Steele, and the appeal by the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset ali Mohmed al-Megrahi.

Campbell Deane, a Scottish media lawyer, said the move was "a start" towards opening courts to the media.

"There seems to be a growing interest in getting cameras in court. But the first consideration will always be whether it risks the administration of justice," he said.

But he added: "Arguments in the court of appeal are hard enough for lawyers to understand if they drop in to see what's going on. The general public will usually have no idea of the legal niceties. Good on them for making the start. However, it's hardly going to be LA Law."