Tweeting in court: why reporters must be given guidelines

The decision by a district judge to allow tweeting from the court in the Julian Assange extradition hearing raises interesting legal questions.

First, has the district judge, Howard Riddle, set a precedent which other courts will follow? Not exactly: it is a magistrates court, lowest in the pecking order of courts, so decisions do not bind other courts. However, his decision may be persuasive of other courts, especially other magistrates. The sky did not fall in as a result of yesterday's tweeting, so why not allow it again? For the decision to gain wider acceptance we really need a crown court judge or high court judge to follow suit.

guardian.co.uk