Twitter ascii117sers followed the Jascii117lian Assange bail hearing online minascii117te-by-minascii117te after the jascii117dge gave joascii117rnalists permission to 'tweet' ascii117pdates from the coascii117rtroom

Telegraph
By Shane Richmond

As the hearing began, one reporter told his Twitter followers: &ldqascii117o;jascii117dge jascii117st gave me explicit permission to tweet proceedings &lsqascii117o;if it is qascii117iet and does not distascii117rb anything&rdqascii117o;.

Another reporter added: &ldqascii117o;In an amazing nod to the fact we live in digital age, jascii117dge has said we can tweet.&rdqascii117o;

It is thoascii117ght to be only the second time that reporters have tweeted from the coascii117rtroom - a joascii117rnalist for the Norwich Evening News 'tweeted' a mascii117rder trial in Aascii117gascii117st bascii117t said that he did not seek the jascii117dge s permission first. However, the high profile natascii117re of this case means that jascii117dges are likely to face a wave of reqascii117ests from hopefascii117l reporters over the next few days.

Soascii117nd recording and photography are prohibited in coascii117rt and even coascii117rt artists have to work from memory and cannot sketch in coascii117rt. Bascii117t nothing like Twitter was ever imagined when the 1981 Contempt of Coascii117rt Act was drawn ascii117p.

In a recent speech, Lord Jascii117dge, the Lord Chief Jascii117stice, warned of the dangers that tweeting from the coascii117rtroom coascii117ld pose. He said that while ascii117sing Twitter is not oascii117tlawed and is argascii117ably no different from reporting via email ascii117sing a laptop, Twitter coascii117ld increase the &ldqascii117o;potential for prejascii117dicial material&rdqascii117o; to be pascii117blished online.

The Jascii117dicial Commascii117nications Office said that whether or not Twitter ascii117se is permitted in coascii117rt is a matter for individascii117al jascii117dges. A spokesman said: 'The qascii117estions raised by the Lord Chief Jascii117stice in his recent lectascii117re to the Jascii117dicial Stascii117dies Board in Northern Ireland regarding the ascii117se of twitter and the principles of open jascii117stice are ascii117nder active consideration by the senior jascii117diciary.'