Georgia

On Wednesday, the Georgia state Senate unanimously passed SB 481,  a bill that seeks to restrict the viewing of sex tapes involving minors that have been used for evidence in a courtroom.

The bill came after a public outcry last year when District Attorney David McDade released copies of a videotape that featured sexually explicit material involving two underage girls, claiming he was required to do so under the open records law.

Ethics activist George Anderson has filed a motion to open Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson's divorce files to the public. Anderson argues that the divorce proceedings are routinely open and that the sealing of Richardson’s divorce records is unjustified.

Jan. 10, 2008  ·   A Georgia state court of appeals affirmed a summary judgment finding in favor of the Savannah Morning News on a libel claim lodged by a former public official.

William Torrance, a former city manager in Vidalia, Ga., first sued the paper after it ran a series of articles examining the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's probe into the death of a peeping Tom who victimized Torrance's daughter.

The Media Law Prof Blog reports that a Georgia state appellate court upheld a summary judgment holding in a libel suit against the Savannah Morning News. 

In response to a defamation claim in Georgia, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg argued that a New York State privilege should immunize him from liability for statements he made in the course of his official duties. While the public official privilege in New York is absolute, public officials in Georgia only enjoy a qualified privilege.

The Georgia Supreme Court is in the midst of a case that should be frustratingly familiar to most police and crime reporters, regardless of the state law involved.

Oct. 24, 2007  ·   A pre-trial hearing scheduled to begin Monday in Atlanta, in which prosecutors are expected to air 12 hours of recorded interviews between law enforcement agents and a suspect accused of aiding terrorists, will be open to the public and press after a federal judge denied the suspect's motion seeking to keep it closed.