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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.

Briefs & Comments

  • Amicus brief in Maryland State Police v. Maryland State Conference of NAACP Branches
    October 5, 2010

    Urging the Maryland Court of Appeals to hold that police internal investigatory records regarding allegations of racial profiling are not "personnel" records under the Maryland Public Information Act subject to withholding and must be disclosed to the public upon request.

  • Amicus brief in Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association
    September 17, 2010

    Urging the court not to uphold a California regulation that restricts violence in the media by banning the sale of violent video games to juveniles.

  • Amicus brief in Milner v. Department of the Navy
    September 7, 2010

    Urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a broad reading of Exemption 2 under the federal Freedom of Information Act, commonly known as a "High 2" exemption, that has been accepted by some courts and rejected by others.

  • Amicus brief in Denver Post Corp. v. Ritter
    August 24, 2010

    Urging the Colorado Supreme Court to hold that Governor Bill Ritter's personal cell phone call log records that document communications regarding state business are subject to disclosure under the Colorado Open Records Act.

  • Amicus brief in POM Wonderful v. American Lawyer Media
    July 30, 2010

    Urging the D.C. Court of Appeals to overturn a prior restraint on publication of information from a publicly available court file that was supposed to be sealed.

  • Amicus brief in Snyder v. Phelps
    July 15, 2010

    Urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the principle that intrusion and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims should not be allowed where the harm is based upon the publication of controversial speech about matters of public concern.

  • A summary of the media-law background of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan
    May 13, 2010

    Elena Kagan has worked on free-speech and free-press issues more than any recent high court nominee, but her writings tend to explore the underpinnings of current doctrines and standards, rather than argue for or against any particular approach. She has also expressed skepticism with how workable the “actual malice” libel standard and a reporter’s privilege are, and whether those standards need to be reworked.

  • Letter to Commonwealth's Attorney in Harrisonburg, Va.
    April 20, 2010

    Letter regarding prosecutor's order to confiscate newsgathering materials on April 16, 2010 from the newsroom of the James Madison University student newspaper without a subpoena.

  • Amicus brief in The Shepherdstown Observer, Inc. v. Jennifer Maghan
    April 16, 2010

    Urging the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia to find that the state's freedom of information act does not require public records to have been physically "prepared" by the public body in the first instance, and thus to order the clerk to release the signatures on a voter referendum petition.

  • Amicus Brief in John Doe # 1 v. Reed
    April 1, 2010

    Urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the Washington state law that allows public access to the names of citizens who submit a referendum petition.

  • Amicus Brief in State v. Henry County Court of Common Pleas
    March 1, 2010

    Urging the Ohio Supreme Court to grant a writ of prohibition to prevent a judge from enforcing a gag order prohibiting the media from reporting on trial proceedings.

  • Amicus brief in Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts v. Attorney General of Texas and Dallas Morning News, Ltd.
    January 20, 2010

    Urging the Supreme Court of Texas to hold that the common law privacy exemption to the Texas Public Information Act does not apply to public employee dates of birth, and arguing that date of birth information is vitally important to accurately monitoring the actions of public officers and their employees.

  • Amicus brief in LFP Publishing v. Toffoloni
    December 31, 2009

    Urging the U.S. Supreme Court to accept review of an 11th Cir. right-of-publicity case in which the court strictly defined and interpreted "newsworthiness."

  • Amicus brief in Amnesty v. Blair
    December 22, 2009

    Urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to find that plaintiffs including journalists who report internationally have standing to challenge the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which permits warrantless wiretapping; furthermore, to hold that the Act is unconstitutional.

  • Amicus brief in Bloomberg L.P. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
    December 14, 2009

    Urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to narrowly construe the scope of FOIA Exemption 4 because the public interest in disclosure of the unprecedented financial bailout records outweighs any potential for competitive harm.