'Foolish' woman fined for taking sneaky, illegal recording of her boyfriend's court hearing
A “foolish” woman who took a sneaky recording of her boyfriend pleading guilty in court has been fined.
Tern Hill mother-of-two Tara-Louise Baker filmed proceedings at Kidderminster Magistrates Court on August 17 last year.
Baker’s boyfriend admitted “several” offences at the hearing and now, several months later, she has also found herself in front of magistrates.
Kate Price, prosecuting at Telford Magistrates Court on Tuesday (February 25), said: “It was on a Saturday when Kidderminster was holding its remand court.
“The defendant [Baker's boyfriend] was brought up from the cells. He pleaded guilty to several matters.
“She was sat in the back of court and recorded all of the proceedings on her phone.”
Baker’s face could be seen in the video recording she took, and there was a voice note in which she said: “That’s the bit where he says 'guilty'. If you want the full video, I’ve got the whole thing.”
The 29-year-old was arrested and gave a “no comment” interview to police.
Baker, of Sutton Road, Tern Hill, pleaded guilty to recording court proceedings without permission. She has no previous convictions.
Dawn Wickham, chair of the magistrates bench, told Baker: “There are rules for how things are reported in court for very good reason. It was very foolish of you to do that.”
Magistrates fined her £120 and ordered her to pay £85 in prosecution costs plus a £48 victim surcharge, giving her a total legal bill of £253.
It is an offence to record court proceedings, other than when official authorisation is given on rare occasions to authorised media organisations. The media can apply to film a judge's sentencing remarks, and requests have been granted in recent years for high-profile cases including the Southport child murderer Axel Rudakubana and baby killer Lucy Letby.