Blog Posts
Would you even know what material might be illegal?
Myles Jackman, Simon Walsh’s solicitor, reveals significant issues in the Guardian about a test case, ones it was not possible to tweet about during the trial itself. “Like Simon, you could be sent a potentially illegal picture via email. One which you never requested or opened, only to later find […]
Buck-passing to medical experts and juries
A decision to prosecute is not a medical matter, nor should the CPS be blithely leaving it “for a jury to decide”. So argues David Allen Green in a powerful piece in the New Statesman questioning the CPS’ judgement in bringing the Walsh prosecution. “The CPS instead has the important […]
Clarifying confused and confusing legislation
An important article by legal academic Alex Dymock, clarifying the extent of what remains a confused and confusing piece of legislation, explains the background to the Walsh case. Present throughout the case, she covers why it raises new and important questions about the legal status of possessing images of consenting […]
Jury refuses to criminalise a Magistrate for looking at fisting porn.
Former Boris Johnson fire aide has been acquitted of possession of “extreme pornography”. A barrister charged with possession of extreme pornography depicting fisting and urethral sounding was acquitted today by a jury at Kingston Crown Court. Simon Walsh, 50, is an Alderman of the City of London and a Magistrate. […]
Both farcical and worrying
“Whatever the result at Kingston Crown Court, there remains on the statute book a dreadful piece of legislation and a CPS very ready to exercise its discretion to prosecute even when the images are of adult consensual sexual activity”. “There is something both farcical and worrying in the way the […]
A censored isle set in a sinful sea
Officialdom’s attitude to freedom of sexual expression & the chequered history of the Obscene Publications Act is wittily summarised in the New Statesman by Heresiarch, @Heresy_Corner on Twitter. The image of Canute vainly trying to hold back the inflowing sea resonates strongly because that is the way in which authorities […]
This time it’s extreme
This week Kingston-on-Thames Crown Court will hear a potentially important test case regarding freedom of sexual expression. Simon Walsh is facing several charges of possession of ‘extreme pornography’ under Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. The case is significant because it centres on images of adults […]
Expert witness evidence by Dr Clarissa Smith
Example of expert witness evidence by Dr Clarissa Smith at an extreme images trial in 2011. Unless a paragraph is prefaced by another identified person, all the points made are hers. The CPS insisted all copies of the images be destroyed at the end of this trial, so it is […]
Expert witness evidence by Professor Feona Attwood
Example expert witness evidence by Professor Feona Attwood at an extreme images trial in 2011. Unless a paragraph is prefaced by another identified person, all the points made are hers. The CPS insisted all copies of the images be destroyed at the end of this trial, so it is not […]
A Judge’s summing up
This is a precis of key points contained in a Crown Court Judge’s summing up at a trial for the possession of extreme images in January 2011. The Jury found the defendant Not Guilty. Parliament recently decided to outlaw extreme pornographic images. This is not about rights and wrongs. Leave […]