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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.

News

Format: 2013-05-07
Format: 2013-05-07
Group drops challenge to station purchase after buyer pledges support for minorities
June 14, 1994
Group drops challenge to station purchase after buyer pledges support for minorities 06/14/1994 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- To fend off a challenge to its proposed purchase of a Maryland radio station, Infinity Broadcasting Corp. will provide $725,000 to support minority broadcasters and businesses. The Federal Communications Commission approved the settlement in mid-May. Infinity also agreed to pay $28,250 in legal costs incurred by the challenger, the African American Business Association.
Judge gags trial participants, then disposes of case at unscheduled hearing
May 31, 1994
Judge gags trial participants, then disposes of case at unscheduled hearing 05/31/1994 WISCONSIN -- A state circuit judge gagged prosecutors, defense attorneys and police from talking publicly about the case of a juvenile charged with killing his father, then allowed the case to be disposed of during an unscheduled hearing in late May.
Judge rules recording can be withheld
May 31, 1994
Judge rules recording can be withheld 05/31/1994 NEW JERSEY -- Tape recordings of closed-door discussions of the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority will remain secret because the minutes adequately reflect the meeting, a superior court judge ruled in a case on remand from the Supreme Court.
World Cup backs down on security waiver, will conduct background checks
May 31, 1994
World Cup backs down on security waiver, will conduct background checks 05/31/1994 NEW YORK -- The committee organizing the World Cup soccer tournament backed down in late May from its requirement that journalists sign a waiver allowing an FBI criminal history background check as a condition of obtaining credentials. The compromise, however, will not stop the background checks.
INS must release names of deported Haitians
May 31, 1994
INS must release names of deported Haitians 05/31/1994 FLORIDA -- The Immigration and Naturalization Service must give the names and addresses of some deported Haitians to Miami immigration attorney Michael Ray, a federal District Court in Miami has ruled.
Panel calls for opening more juvenile proceedings
May 31, 1994
Panel calls for opening more juvenile proceedings 05/31/1994 ARIZONA -- An Arizona committee on juvenile justice, in late May, recommended that juvenile court proceedings be more open to the press and public and would create a presumption of openness in cases involving allegations of serious felony conduct.
Paper does not have to give up unpublished pictures of coconut-tree accident
May 31, 1994
Paper does not have to give up unpublished pictures of coconut-tree accident 05/31/1994 HAWAII -- A state trial judge in Honolulu ruled in a decision filed in early May that the Honolulu Advertiser does not have to give unpublished photographs to a coconut-tree accident victim who plans to file a lawsuit against the city of Honolulu.
Judge orders Justice Department to release mug shots, but stays order to allow appeal
May 31, 1994
Judge orders Justice Department to release mug shots, but stays order to allow appeal 05/31/1994 MICHIGAN -- A federal District Court judge in Detroit ordered the Department of Justice to release to the Detroit Free Press mug shots of eight persons arrested and charged with federal crimes, but she stayed her ruling in late May to allow appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati (6th Circuit).
Court affirms dismissal of libel suit filed against out-of-state defendants
May 31, 1994
Court affirms dismissal of libel suit filed against out-of-state defendants 05/31/1994 TEXAS -- The U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans (5th Circuit) ruled in mid-May that a federal court in Texas does not have jurisdiction over two out-of-state defendants in a libel suit brought by a resident of Pennsylvania.
Appeals court reverses its own ruling on libel suit filed over book review
May 17, 1994
Appeals court reverses its own ruling on libel suit filed over book review 05/17/1994 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Explaining that "one ought not to reject [wisdom] merely because it comes late," in early May a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington (D.C. Cir.) reversed its own February decision and affirmed the dismissal of a libel suit filed by the author of a book unfavorably reviewed in the New York Times.
Appeals court rules against secret settlement
May 17, 1994
Appeals court rules against secret settlement 05/17/1994 PENNSYLVANIA -- If records are likely to be public under a state's freedom of information law, a strong presumption exists that a court should not grant or maintain a settlement agreement that makes the records secret, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia (3d Cir.) ruled in early May.
Reporters squeezed out by bureaucrats at plea agreement hearing for CIA spy
May 17, 1994
Reporters squeezed out by bureaucrats at plea agreement hearing for CIA spy 05/17/1994 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Some reporters at the plea agreement hearing of former CIA employee Aldrich Ames, who was charged with espionage, complained that they were excluded from the courtroom because government officials and members of the local press were given priority seating.
Judge rejects bid for Gacy interview
May 17, 1994
Judge rejects bid for Gacy interview 05/17/1994 ILLINOIS -- A federal judge in early May rejected a television station's bid to force state corrections officials to allow a television interview with condemned serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who was executed four days later.
Law limiting access to crime records upheld
May 17, 1994
Law limiting access to crime records upheld 05/17/1994 COLORADO -- A federal appeals court upheld a state law in mid-April that limits public access to some criminal justice records.
Court sends libel suit back for trial
May 17, 1994
Court sends libel suit back for trial 05/17/1994 U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS -- The U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, (3rd Cir.) in mid-April reversed a grant of summary judgment to the Virgin Islands Daily News in a libel suit.