D v Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth)

The appellant, D, appealed against a decision of a single Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia. The Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) took no position on the appeal, while Advertiser Newspapers Ltd (The Advertiser) acted as a contradictor. D was charged with four counts of advocating terrorism, allegedly by creating and uploading videos to social media. D denied the charges and had a history of mental health problems. A Magistrate had initially made a suppression order regarding D's name and image, which was later revoked following a committal hearing. D appealed this revocation to the Supreme Court.

The central legal issue before the Full Court was whether the suppression order made by the single Judge was appropriate. The Judge had allowed D's appeal against the Magistrate's revocation, reinstating and extending the suppression order until the conclusion of the first hearing in the District Court. This order suppressed publication of D's name, pseudonyms, and any identifying audio or visual material, including the four videos central to the charges and twenty other videos relied upon by the prosecution at the committal hearing. The Advertiser sought to have this suppression order set aside.

The Full Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the single Judge's decision except for the making of the suppression order itself. The Court reasoned that while the administration of justice might be prejudiced by the publication of certain material before trial, this prejudice would likely cease once a jury was empanelled and evidence admitted. The Court therefore made orders suppressing publication of the four charged videos, the twenty other videos, and D's identifying information until further order. However, the Court permitted the publication of visual material derived from the four videos, provided that any alleged weapon or prop was not depicted and that the man's face and any identifying features were pixilated. The Court indicated it would hear the parties on the precise form of these orders.