Judges could take weeks to decide Twitter joke appeal

 

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By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 27 Jun 2012 at 16:00

The Twitter joke trial is set to drag on for a few more weeks, after High Court judges reserved a decision on the defendant’s appeal.

Paul Chambers, at the centre of the storm following a joke that backfired, was convicted in May 2010 for “menacing electronic communication”, and has been fighting an appeal since September the same year.

His was arrested after a tweet – "Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!" – expressing frustration at snow disrupting travel plans.

The judges - Lord Judge, Mr Justice Owens and Mr Justice Griffith Williams - will now deliberate whether to overturn the initial conviction.

It’s unclear when a judgement might be made, with predictions from legal experts of between two and eight weeks, although Chambers' legal team was optimistic.

“The Twitter joke trial appeal went as well as it could have done. Now we wait...” said David Allen Green, part of Chambers’ legal team on his Twitter stream. “No idea when the appeal decision will be, but judges said they were well aware of the length this appeal has taken so far.”

Earlier this year, a divisional court ordered a new hearing after failing to reach a decision on the case, and today was Chambers’ seventh day in court.