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.
Amicus
Short for amicus curiae, or "friend of the court." Independent groups like the Reporters Committee file amicus curiae briefs when they are not otherwise directly involved in a case, to lend the media's perspective on the legal issues before the court.
Reporters Committee lauds federal court's ruling that secret Del. court arbitration is unconstitutional
A federal judge in Delaware stood up for the right to be informed about important disputes that may affect public health and safety Thursday when she declared unconstitutional state court rules that allow blanket confidentiality in private arbitration proceedings and records.
Reporters Committee asks Supreme Court to clarify high standard for sealing entire cases, dockets
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case involving a 12-year, blanket sealing order in a criminal case alleging organized crime, racketeering, conspiracy and fraud.
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond (4th Cir.) affirmed today that Virginia election officials violated the National Voter Registration Act by refusing to release completed voter registration applications. The court found that once the applicants' social security numbers were redacted, their applications were "unquestionably" public under the law.
Reporters Committee urges federal court to allow challenge of policy that restricts access to court records
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has asked a federal appellate court to reverse a lower court ruling that could severely curtail the news media's ability to challenge state court policies that deny access to judicial proceedings and records.
The Illinois Eavesdropping Act, one of the broadest restrictions on audio recording nationwide, is likely unconstitutional and may not be enforced against the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois when it records conversations of police officers openly engaged in their public duties, a federal appellate court ruled today.
Journalists opposing the controversial Illinois eavesdropping statute expressed relief when a Chicago official announced that police do not plan to enforce the law when the city hosts the NATO summit in May. A state representative also introduced a bill last week to make it legal to audio record police officers in public.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case that questions the constitutionality of a statute which criminalizes false statements about the receipt of military medals.
The names of city of Long Beach police officers involved in shootings are subject to disclosure under the California Open Records Act, a California appeals court ruled this week.
The Second Appellate Court District upheld a lower court's finding that the release of the names of Long Beach police officers who were involved in shootings was not an invasion of privacy and the names were not protected as part of personnel or investigative files under the law.
A federal appeals court recently upheld the constitutionality of a controversial law that criminalizes lying about the receipt of military honors, just weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court will consider a case that struck down the statute.
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that a defamation suit filed by a high school basketball coach against about a dozen critics is not subject for dismissal under Illinois’ Citizen Participation Act, a statue aimed to prevent Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP).
