Prosecutors reject no case submissions in George Pell media contempt trial

Prosecutors have rejected arguments media outlets have no case to answer over the reporting of Cardinal George Pell’s case after some charges were dropped.

Prosecutors have rejected arguments by media outlets and journalists facing contempt charges over the way Cardinal George Pell’s conviction was recorded that they have no case to answer.

Barrister Lisa De Ferrari SC, acting for the Director of Public Prosecutions, told a court on Monday lawyers acting for News Corp Australia and Fairfax/Nine and Mamma Mia did not meet the test required to mount a no-case submission.

“In none of the respondents’ submissions have they grappled with the test to be applied in a no-case submission application,” she told Victorian Supreme Court judge John Dixon.

Last week, lawyers acting for the media and journalists asked the judge to throw out the contempt case, based on a lack of evidence. The request came after prosecutors dropped 13 of 100 charges against media companies, editors and journalists over reporting of the Pell trial in December 2018.

Lawyers for News Corp newspapers outside Victoria that face charges argued that their circulation in Victoria was so small that publishing the articles in question would not frustrate the intent of the Pell suppression order.

Ms De Ferrari said there were ways Victorians could have had access to the articles, whether they were visiting interstate or through file sharing.

“They were not fish and chips wrapping paper. They were downloadable and able to be kept in a PDF reproduction,” Ms De ­Ferrari said.

Will Houghton QC, for News Corp, said the crown needed to prove potential jurors might not only have read the articles but ­actually searched for them.

The media published information about the conviction of a high-profile Australian without naming Cardinal Pell or identifying his charges, at a time when he was yet to face another trial.

News Corp Australia is the publisher of The Australian.

NCA NEWSWIRE