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    Digital Journalist's Legal Guide
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    Everything online journalists need to protect their legal rights. This free resource culls from all Reporters Committee resources and includes exclusive content on digital media law issues.

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    Court finds defendant's interest overcomes shield law
    News
    February 17, 2011
    A New York Supreme Court judge in Brooklyn ruled in early January that the New York Daily News must disclose to the court in chambers the source of information related to the case, despite the state...
    Reporter's Privilege, Sixth Amendment rights, New York
    Pennsylvania executives refuse records requests
    News
    November 9, 2010
    The owner of a Philadelphia historical walking tour company has been sued by the offices of the Pennsylvania governor and Philadelphia mayor in attempts to block the release of records requested...
    Freedom of Information, Pennsylvania
    Case against reporter for photo in polling station dropped
    News
    October 20, 2010
    A West Virginia judge Monday dropped all charges filed against the publisher of a West Virginia monthly paper who photographed a worker inside a polling station during an election, according to...
    Elections and campaigns, Newsgathering, Photographers, West Virginia
    Court rejects ACLU's request for detainee death records
    News
    September 24, 2010
    A U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., has denied the American Civil Liberties Union access to documents held by the Department of Homeland Security regarding deaths of immigration detainees....
    ACLU, Freedom of Information, Homeland security, Immigration, U.S.
    School employee may have been fired for talking to press
    News
    September 13, 2010
    A U.S. District Court judge in Maryland denied the Frederick County Board of Education’s motion to dismiss a former employee’s First Amendment violation claim on Thursday, finding it...
    Reporter's Privilege, School employees, Maryland
    High court rules personal e-mail is not public record
    News
    July 19, 2010
    The Wisconsin Supreme Court limited the scope of the state’s open records law last week when it ruled that several teachers’ personal e-mail messages, though sent on school-owned...
    E-mail, Freedom of Information, Wisconsin
    Records request leads to dispute over request fees
    News
    June 18, 2010
      When Wisconsin investigative reporter Richard Moore requested records from the state's Department of Natural Resources last year that related to a shoreland zoning issue, he did not expect to...
    Fees, Freedom of Information, Public records, Wisconsin
    Las Vegas newspaper sues websites over use of content
    News
    June 14, 2010
    The Las Vegas Review-Journal is suing dozens of websites that are using the newspaper’s content without permission. Righthaven LLC, a Nevada company that represents the paper, has filed 37...
    Copyright, Fair use, Newsgathering, Nevada
    State university officials endorsed secrecy of Palin's speaking fee
    News
    May 12, 2010
    E-mail messages made public this week by a state lawmaker show top California State University officials agreed to keep secret the speaking fee it intended to pay former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin,...
    Freedom of Information, Public records, Public universities, California
    CIA director approved destruction of abuse tapes, emails reveal
    News
    April 16, 2010
    The Central Intelligence Agency released email messages on Thursday that reveal the former director of the agency approved of -- and joked about -- the decision made by top officials to destroy...
    CIA, Freedom of Information, Torture, U.S.