Trial of Paul Chambers
Encyclopedia
The Twitter Joke Trial is the name given to a legal case centred on an incident concerning Robin Hood Airport
in England
.
During late December 2009 and early January 2010, cold weather
had resulted in considerable disruption across northern England. Robin Hood airport was one of many airports which were forced to cancel flights. On 6 January 2010, an intending traveller, Paul Chambers, posted a message on Twitter
:
He was arrested by anti-terror police at his office a week later,
for making a bomb threat, after an off-duty manager at the airport found the message while doing an unrelated computer search. His mobile phone, laptop and desktop hard drive were confiscated during a search of his house. He was later charged with "sending a public electronic message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character contrary to the Communications Act 2003
". On 10 May, he was found guilty at Doncaster magistrates court and ordered to pay £1,000 in fines and legal costs. He lost his job as a consequence.
The conviction has been widely condemned as unfair, and referred to as a miscarriage of justice.
Chambers lost an appeal against his conviction. Judge Jacqueline Davies
heard his appeal in Doncaster Crown Court; she judged that the tweet contained "menace" and that Chambers must have known that it might be taken seriously. Thousands of Twitter users responded by reposting Chambers' Tweet including the hashtag #iamspartacus.
The High Court
heard a further appeal on 10 November 2011. The "appeal by case stated
" will be made by Chambers' barristers, Ben Emmerson QC and Sarah Przybylska, and David Allen Green
(who acted for Chambers in earlier proceedings) will be acting as his solicitor, through Preiskel & Co LLP. The court dismissed the appeal and awarded further costs.
The comedian and television presenter Stephen Fry
has offered to pay Chambers' legal bill.
Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield
Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield is an international airport located at the former RAF Finningley airbase at Finningley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster within South Yorkshire, England. The airport lies southeast of Doncaster and east of Sheffield.The airport is operated by Peel...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
During late December 2009 and early January 2010, cold weather
Winter of 2009–2010 in the United Kingdom
The winter of 2009–2010 in the United Kingdom was a meteorological event that started on 16 December 2009, as part of the severe winter weather in Europe. January 2010 was provisionally the coldest January since 1987 across the country...
had resulted in considerable disruption across northern England. Robin Hood airport was one of many airports which were forced to cancel flights. On 6 January 2010, an intending traveller, Paul Chambers, posted a message on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
:
Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!
He was arrested by anti-terror police at his office a week later,
for making a bomb threat, after an off-duty manager at the airport found the message while doing an unrelated computer search. His mobile phone, laptop and desktop hard drive were confiscated during a search of his house. He was later charged with "sending a public electronic message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character contrary to the Communications Act 2003
Communications Act 2003
The Communications Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It gave regulation body Ofcom its full powers. Among other measures, it introduced legal recognition of Community Radio and paved the way for full-time Community Radio services in the UK; as well as controversially...
". On 10 May, he was found guilty at Doncaster magistrates court and ordered to pay £1,000 in fines and legal costs. He lost his job as a consequence.
The conviction has been widely condemned as unfair, and referred to as a miscarriage of justice.
Chambers lost an appeal against his conviction. Judge Jacqueline Davies
Jacqueline Davies
Jacqueline M Davies styled Her Honour Judge Jacqueline Davies is a Circuit Judge, working in the North Eastern region of the UK. She was appointed on the 29th June 1993- Twitter Joke Trial :...
heard his appeal in Doncaster Crown Court; she judged that the tweet contained "menace" and that Chambers must have known that it might be taken seriously. Thousands of Twitter users responded by reposting Chambers' Tweet including the hashtag #iamspartacus.
The High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
heard a further appeal on 10 November 2011. The "appeal by case stated
Case Stated
Case stated is an appeal mechanism, a legal function, available in England and Wales to review a magistrates' court decision on a point of law. It is a statement of facts prepared by one court for the opinion of another on a point of law....
" will be made by Chambers' barristers, Ben Emmerson QC and Sarah Przybylska, and David Allen Green
David Allen Green
David Allen Green is an English lawyer and writer. He is also legal correspondent for the New Statesman; and blogs as "Jack of Kent"....
(who acted for Chambers in earlier proceedings) will be acting as his solicitor, through Preiskel & Co LLP. The court dismissed the appeal and awarded further costs.
The comedian and television presenter Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
has offered to pay Chambers' legal bill.