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    Digital Journalist's Legal Guide
    Tablet and mobile phone showing news online

    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.

    Massachusetts

    2. Availability of an ombudsman.

    The Supervisor of Public Records, an administrative official in the Division of Public Records, which in turn is located within the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, is empowered to rule on the public status of government records held by entities subject to the act. That division generally has an attorney assigned each day to respond to inquiries from the public. To speak to the “Attorney of the Day,” call (617) 727-2832 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on business days. The office generally declines to provide advisory opinions.

    Filmmaker cannot obtain trial recording, Mass. high court rules

    Lilly Chapa | Secret Courts | News | March 20, 2013
    Lilly Chapa
    News
    March 20, 2013

    Massachusetts’ highest court ruled Monday that a documentary filmmaker cannot access an audio recording of a controversial rape trial because it is not an official judicial record of the trial.

    Massachusetts

    Date: 
    August 1, 2012

    Summary of statute(s): Massachusetts prohibits the recording, interception, use or disclosure of any conversation, whether in person or via wire or telephone, without the permission of all the parties. The state also prohibits the recording and disclosure of images intercepted in violation of its hidden camera laws. Violators can face both civil and criminal penalties.

    OpenCourt can record Mass. jury trials, state high court judge rules

    Amanda Simmons | Newsgathering | News | August 15, 2012
    Amanda Simmons
    News
    August 15, 2012

    OpenCourt, a Massachusetts courtroom transparency program can begin streaming video of jury trials at a local district court, a judge from the state’s highest court ruled on Tuesday.

    Judge orders blogger to take down information about woman accused in hit-and-run case

    Emily Miller | Prior Restraints | News | July 5, 2012
    Emily Miller
    News
    July 5, 2012

    A Massachusetts district judge ordered a blogger to remove from his website all references to a woman who faced criminal charges related to a car accident that seriously injured a pedestrian. A hearing Monday will bring into question the constitutionality of the order, which some argue violates the First Amendment.

    Attorney arrested for recording officers in public receives $170,000 in settlement with City of Boston

    Haley Behre | Newsgathering | News | March 27, 2012
    Haley Behre
    News
    March 27, 2012

    A Massachusetts attorney arrested for using his cellphone to record police officers while they arrested a man in public received a $170,000 settlement for damages and legal fees from the City of Boston on Monday.

    Judicial order restricting publication of material in live-streamed court proceeding is unconstitutional

    Kristen Rasmussen | Prior Restraints | Feature | March 14, 2012
    Kristen Rasmussen
    Feature
    March 14, 2012

    A judicial order that a news organization redact material presented during open court is an unconstitutional prior restraint on publication, Massachusetts’ highest court ruled today.

    The state’s Supreme Judicial Court also directed its Judiciary-Media Committee to develop guidelines for the live online streaming pilot project of the National Public Radio station in Boston at the heart of the legal dispute.

    Mass. extends journalists electronic access in courts

    Haley Behre | Newsgathering | Feature | March 6, 2012
    Haley Behre
    Feature
    March 6, 2012

    Journalists will soon be able to use laptop computers and other mobile electronic devices in Massachusetts courtrooms, after the state's highest court adopted a new rule designed to recognize changes in journalism and technology.

    The rule also broadly defines "news media" and extends to any individual who gathers and disseminates information, whether in print or electronic format, about matters of public interest and concern to the public.

    Comments to Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Judiciary re. Senate Bill 785

    February 7, 2012
    application/pdf icon2012-02-07-comments-to-massachusetts-joint-committee-on-the-j.pdf

    The Massachusetts Legislature is considering a bill that would impose criminal charges against members of the media and others who, in connection with any criminal proceeding, disclose documents that divulge information about a child involved in the proceeding, regardless of the source of such documents or information. The bill requires all documents that include such information to be filed under seal, without court order, with a redacted version made publicly available.