"Making a Murderer" series: Part 4: A British perspective: A story in the independent reports that the Netflix documentary on Steven Avery 'could not be made in UK due to lack of open justice.' " “Lawyers and journalists have been asleep at the wheel and allowed the British system to become secret,” said Emily Bolton, a lawyer for the non-profit Centre for Criminal Appeals. She appealed for court transcripts and police and prosecution files to be maintained digitally for future inspection. In England and Wales, cameras are banned from crown and magistrates’ courts and only permitted in the Court of Appeal, where their use is highly restricted. Court transcripts, which could offer researchers a verbatim record of cases, are destroyed after five years, unless they have been placed under a preservation order. Case files are usually destroyed after six years. Marika Henneberg, a senior lecturer in the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Portsmouth, has watched Making a Murderer and been astonished by the access the research team had to materials from a historic case. “This is raw justice in action,” she wrote in a contribution to The Justice Gap blog. “Having worked with wrongful convictions for nearly a decade, I am overwhelmed by the accessible and ‘open’ justice process that this documentary highlights. In England and Wales such an open justice process does not exist.” Ms Henneberg is advising Omar Benguit, who maintains his innocence of a murder in Bournemouth in 2002. He underwent three trials, the transcripts of which have been destroyed."

STORY: "Making a Murderer: Netflix documentary on Steven Avery 'could not be made in UK due to lack of open justice,'"  reported by Ian Burrell,  published on January 4, 2016, by The Independent.

SUB-HEADING: "Legal experts express concern lack of access to case files and in England and Wales inhibits making of similar projects."

GIST:  "Making a Murderer is captivating television audiences on both sides of the Atlantic and has already been hailed as one of the most important documentary series ever made.But legal campaigners warn that the cult Netflix hit – which exposes the unfairness of the US criminal justice system – could not be made in the UK because of the growing restrictions on open justice..........Making a Murderer, based on a decade of research by its creators Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, has both gripped and shocked American audiences. Forbes magazine described it as “Netflix’s most significant show ever”. The two chief defence lawyers, Dean Strang and Jerry Buting, have become unlikely internet heart-throbs. Its success has cemented the importance in American broadcasting of the true crime genre, following the recent popularity of the HBO series The Jinx and the podcast Serial. But legal experts in Britain have expressed concern that the lack of access to case files and court transcripts from the justice system in England and Wales inhibits the making of similarly detailed media projects on suspected miscarriages of justice.  “Lawyers and journalists have been asleep at the wheel and allowed the British system to become secret,” said Emily Bolton, a lawyer for the non-profit Centre for Criminal Appeals. She appealed for court transcripts and police and prosecution files to be maintained digitally for future inspection. In England and Wales, cameras are banned from crown and magistrates’ courts and only permitted in the Court of Appeal, where their use is highly restricted. Court transcripts, which could offer researchers a verbatim record of cases, are destroyed after five years, unless they have been placed under a preservation order. Case files are usually destroyed after six years. Marika Henneberg, a senior lecturer in the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Portsmouth, has watched Making a Murderer and been astonished by the access the research team had to materials from a historic case. “This is raw justice in action,” she wrote in a contribution to The Justice Gap blog. “Having worked with wrongful convictions for nearly a decade, I am overwhelmed by the accessible and ‘open’ justice process that this documentary highlights. In England and Wales such an open justice process does not exist.” Ms Henneberg is advising Omar Benguit, who maintains his innocence of a murder in Bournemouth in 2002. He underwent three trials, the transcripts of which have been destroyed. “Appellants in our jurisdiction deserve the same accessible and open justice process that can be seen in Making a Murderer,” she said."

The entire story can be found at:

 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/making-a-murderer-netflix-documentary-on-steven-avery-could-not-be-made-in-uk-say-legal-experts-a6796481.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 
 
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
 
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
 
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
 
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
 
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html

Harold Levy: Publisher;