Georgia

Media organizations asks judge to dismiss gag order imposed by prosecutors

Lilly Chapa | Secret Courts | News | April 25, 2013
News
April 25, 2013

Two Georgia media organizations are asking a judge to dismiss an unusual gag order placed on 35 Atlanta Public School employees charged with altering standardized tests in a widespread cheating scandal.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News (WSB-TV) filed a joint motion to lift the gag orders on those charged in the cheating scandal. District Attorney Paul Howard agreed to lower the defendants’ bail bond amounts if the defendants agreed not to talk to reporters.

Georgia

Date: 
August 1, 2012

Summary of statute(s): An individual may record or disclose the contents of a wire, oral or electronic communication if he or she is a party to the communication or has received prior consent from one of the parties. The state prohibits the use of cameras to observe private activities without the consent of all parties involved, and also prohibits disclosure of the contents of illegally obtained recordings. However, Georgia carves out an exception, allowing the parents of minor children to intercept private telephonic and electronic communications without consent.

Appeals court throws out nearly $20 million jury award against Hustler Magazine

Rachel Bunn | Privacy | News | May 3, 2012
News
May 3, 2012

A federal court of appeals threw out an almost $20 million jury award to the family of Nancy Benoit who claimed Hustler Magazine violated their daughter's right of publicity by publishing nude photographs of her after she was killed by her husband, the professional wrestler Chris Benoit in a double murder-suicide.

Georgia high court rules city council must record votes

You-Jin Han | Freedom of Information | Feature | February 7, 2012
Feature
February 7, 2012

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled yesterday that state public bodies must record in public meeting minutes the names of those members who voted against or abstained from voting on a measure, even where the vote is not taken by a roll call.

Georgia's highest court won't review Jewell libel case

Andrea Papagianis | Libel | Feature | January 11, 2012
Feature
January 11, 2012

Earlier this week the Georgia Supreme Court declined to review a lower court decision in the long-running libel case against The Atlanta Journal-Constitution filed by Richard Jewell, who was wrongfully accused of the 1996 Olympic Park bombing, and carried on by his family since his death in 2007.

Media did not libel hero in Olympics bombing coverage

Clara Hogan | Libel | Feature | July 27, 2011
Feature
July 27, 2011

Reporters at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution did not libel a security guard, who was at first hailed as a hero after the 1996 bombing at Centennial Olympic Park, when they reported authorities were investigating him as a suspect in the bombing, the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled this month.

Reporters Committee brief argues against federal mug shot rules

Press Release | May 2, 2011
May 2, 2011

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a friend-of-the-court brief Monday asking a federal appeals court to revisit the U.S. Marshals Service’s “inane” policy of releasing federal suspects’ mug shots based on the requestor’s physical location.

Media reports gag order issued on pre-trial reporting

Derek Green | Prior Restraints | Feature | September 20, 2010
Feature
September 20, 2010

The McDuffie (Ga.) Mirror reported that a Georgia trial judge issued an order prohibiting reporters and other attendees of a criminal court proceeding from publicly disclosing the testimony given at the hearing.

Georgia House passes bill to exempt crime photos from release

Nadia Tamez-Robledo | Freedom of Information | Quicklink | March 18, 2010
Quicklink
March 18, 2010

The Georgia House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation Tuesday that will exempt crime scene photos depicting a victim’s dismembered body or exposed genitalia from the state's Open Records Act, the Rome News-Tribune reported.