Whale Oil loses appeal on name suppression charges

  • Breaking
  • 10/05/2011

Blogger Cameron Slater has lost his bid to have his conviction for breaching suppression orders overturned.

Slater appealed to the High Court after he was convicted in the Auckland District Court on nine charges - eight of breaching suppression orders and one of naming a victim in a sexual abuse case.

He was fined $750 and ordered to pay costs of $130 on each of the nine charges.

Slater said today he had yet to talk to his lawyer and decide if he would take his case to the next stage, a further appeal to the Court of Appeal.

However, he also told NZPA the result was what he expected.

"We can't have people upsetting the legal profession can we?" he said.

He said he had yet to pay any of the nearly $8000 in fines and court costs and would "make arrangements" to pay if he did not appeal.

The charges were laid after Slater published items on his website which authorities said breached court orders by identifying people who had name suppression.

Some of the charges related to blogs posted with pictures which revealed the identities of a prominent New Zealand entertainer, and an Olympian who both faced sex charges.

The District Court had earlier been told that Slater believed he had followed the letter of the law.

NZPA

source: newshub archive