Jonathan,
That clarifies the issue. If the police intended that outcome, would they have agreed to stop it so quickly? I doubt that. If they intended to subvert the process, they did it so overtly that everyone saw it.
I think they made a basic social media mistake and went for an arresting hashtag (pun intended) that made it appear guilty when they did not intend it.
As I mentioned on twitter, and I mentioned in my first post, I do not see "drink driver" as a legal term i.e. as a *convicted* drink driver. In other words, I saw, although I will see it differently, that drink driver just referred to someone who had been stopped for drink driving and charged with the offence.
Perhaps they could have used the hashtag "#boozydriver" "#discombobulateddriver" or some such euphemism. However, we face the twitter demand to be precise or pithy. Could they have expressed it with another non-technical hashtag word? For example, inebriated would indicate a state of intoxication that would have to be proved.
If they had used #allegeddrinkdriver that may have resolved the issue.
In the end, the issue is moot. The police withdrew the hashtag and promised not to use it again. We would only resolve the issue that we are debating if one of the drivers brought it to court and the court ruled on its fairness and proportionality.
Best,
Lawrence
-----Original Message-----
From: Baines, Jonathan [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 30 January 2014 15:16
To: Lawrence Serewicz
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Tweeting about drink drivers
"tended the hashtag to imply guilt so as to subvert the judicial process ie a kangaroo court. I do not see evidence of that. Unless you are now saying you know the police intended to state these people were guilty.
Is that what you are saying?"
Yes. Or at least they risked people inferring that they intended to state the people were guilty.
> On 30 Jan 2014, at 15:06, "Lawrence Serewicz" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> tended the hashtag to imply guilt so as to subvert the judicial process ie a kangaroo court. I do not see evidence of that. Unless you are now saying you know the police intended to state these people were guilty.
>
> Is that what you are saying?
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