The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that in order to protect the fairness of the justice system, journalists cannot broadcast or publish portions of a criminal trial that take place before a jury is seated.
It has ruled unanimously that those trial details can be made public only after jurors begin deliberating or are dismissed because information that comes out at pretrial conferences may be prejudicial to the accused.
The justices reviewed two cases in which judges imposed publication bans on proceedings that took place before juries were impanelled -- leading media companies to launch appeals.