Reg v Glennon

This matter came before the High Court of Australia on an application for special leave to appeal. The parties involved were Michael Charles Glennon, the respondent, and the Crown, represented by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The dispute concerned an application for a prohibition on the publication of the proceedings, which the respondent sought as a precautionary measure due to the central role of publication in the case generally and the potential for further publicity to complicate an ultimate trial.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether it had the power to grant the requested prohibition on publication, notwithstanding the general principle that court proceedings must be conducted in open court. The Crown drew the Court's attention to section 15 of the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) and the case of *Dickason v Dickason* (1913) 17 CLR 50, which affirmed the requirement for open court proceedings.

The Court considered the application for a publication prohibition. While the Crown did not oppose the order, it highlighted the statutory and common law requirement for open court proceedings as established in *Dickason*. The Crown also noted that publicity had already been given to the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeal from which this application originated, and that the possibility of a retrial remained, which could be influenced by further publicity. The respondent indicated that the application for suppression had been made in all previous forums and was not being pressed, but was made to demonstrate an endeavour to avoid adverse pre-trial publicity.