Zachary Rolfe trial media contempt threat

Media outlets could face contempt charges for breaching suppression orders and prejudicing potential jurors in the murder trial of Zachary Rolfe, a court has heard.

Zachary Rolfe. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Media outlets could face contempt charges for breaching suppression orders and prejudicing potential jurors in the murder trial of Zachary Rolfe, a court has heard.

The decorated young policeman stands accused of killing 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in a botched attempted arrest in the outback community of Yuendumu in 2019. After several delays, the trial has now been listed for three weeks in February.

In a pre-trial hearing on Friday, Northern Territory Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Grant said the court had become aware of material broadcast and posted online, including by the Daily Mail website and Channel 7’s Spotlight program.

Seven’s show was not broadcast in the NT, but recordings have been widely shared on social media and seen by many in the Central Australian community.

“Now those publications are potentially in breach of suppression orders, I understand, which had previously been made by Justice (Dean) Mildren and the Full Court but also potentially – I say potentially – in breach of the sub judice doctrine,” he said.

Crown prosecutor Philip Strickland SC suggested the court might issue a take-down order if the material were not removed. Justice Grant noted reproductions appearing on the UK version of the Daily Mail site presented a “practical difficulty”.