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news feedNEWS MEDIA UPDATE D.C. Cir. · May 9, 2008 · Reporter's privilege
Appeals court questions Locy contempt finding
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. questioned whether it ought to uphold the potentially crippling fines assessed against former USA Today reporter Toni Locy for her refusal to identify the confidential sources she used while reporting on terrorism issues.
Locy became embroiled in the dispute when former Army scientist Steven Hatfill subpoenaed Locy in his Privacy Act lawsuit against the federal government. Hatfill contends that the government violated the act by identifying him as a “person of interest” in their investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people and left 17 others injured.
Hatfill has already identified three sources – including two of Locy’s – during the discovery period of his civil suit. Nevertheless, he has maintained his dogged pursuit of the additional sources Locy relied on in her stories covering the investigation. Locy has testified in depositions that she does not remember who provided her with the information specifically on Hatfill. Rather, she can only recall a universe of approximately a dozen sources she used while reporting . . . [more]
— Matthew Pollack, 4:12 pm [link] Keywords: Anthrax investigation; Hatfill · Comments: 0 · Comment
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE D.C. Cir. · May 8, 2008 · Reporter's privilege
Court of appeals to hear Locy arguments tomorrow
On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., will hear Toni Locy’s appeal of a contempt finding that could impose crippling fines on the former USA Today reporter.
Former Army scientist Steven Hatfill first subpoenaed Locy as a witness in his Privacy Act suit against the government for naming him as a “person of interest” in its investigation into the 2001 anthrax mailings that killed five people and left 17 others injured.
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton informed Hatfill that he could not succeed on his claim without pinpointing specific sources within the government who released such information. Hatfill subsequently subpoenaed five reporters to ascertain the identities of the anonymous sources that named him in news stories about the investigation. His efforts turned up three sources – including two of Locy’s – who voluntarily released the reporters from their promises of confidentiality.
Locy cannot recall which other confidential sources, if any, provided additional information that specifically referred to Hatfill. Despite having three sources already come forward and . . . [more]
— Matthew Pollack, 3:55 pm [link] Keywords: Anthrax investigation; Contempt · Comments: 0 · Comment
QUICKLINK U.S. · May 8, 2008 · Freedom of information
Navy releases McCain's military records
Following a Freedom of Information Act request by the Associated Press, the Navy on Wednesday released GOP presidential hopeful John McCain's military records.
For his part, the Arizona senator has yet to release his medical records. During his previous run for the White House in 2000, he voluntarily released his full medical history — nearly 1,500 pages of documents. This time around, he has continued to delay disclosing his recent medical reports. The records were originally scheduled for release in April. The . . . [more]
— Jennifer Koons, 10:26 am [link] · Comments: 0 · Comment
QUICKLINK Washington, D.C. · May 7, 2008 · Freedom of information
Defender of whistle-blowers accused of retaliation
It's always a bad sign when the U.S. Special Counsel, whose job it is to protect whistleblowers, is under investigation for destroying evidence related to charges he retaliated against his own employees. The Associated Press reported that at least 20 federal agents were involved in the search of the offices of U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch, and others searched his home.
In 2005, a group of current and former employees filed a complaint accusing him of retaliation against those who opposed his . . . [more]
— Gregg Leslie, 5:36 pm [link] · Comments: 0 · Comment
SIDEBAR Colorado · May 7, 2008 · Newsgathering
ACLU launches pre-emptive strike in Denver
If history is any precedent, there will be many restrictions placed on protesters and the journalists who try to cover them during the Democratic National Convention in Denver at the end of the summer. In recent years, the trend has been to try to limit protesting to penned-in areas, preferably (by police standards) a few blocks away from anything relevant.
To head off such efforts, the Colorado office of the ACLU has sued the city and county to get them to release their plans for protesters now, rather than just before the convention when it's too late to do anything about it.
Such plans will be meaningful for journalists too. Every four years, someone gets arrested while trying to cover the story. The Reporters Committee provides special convention hotlines for journalists who get swept up in mass arrests, or are otherwise interfered with . . . [more]
— Gregg Leslie, 5:11 pm [link] · Comments: 0 · Comment
SIDEBAR U.S. · May 6, 2008 · Internet regulation
Wikipedia case may test Section 230 again
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides protection from liability for Internet service providers for content posted by third parties, is more necessary than ever these days. It took a beating in a suit brought against Roommates.com recently, but then again, the content on that site was generated by third parties who were answering questions and filling in a template provided by the housing site itself.
It also didn't stop a bank from dragging a domain name registrar into court and making them block access to the wikileaks.org Web site under threat of liability for the postings on that leaks site, but then again, the registrar didn't seem to be aware that section 230 should have applied.
But now comes another case that could test the limits of the safe harbor. A [more]
— Gregg Leslie, 5:16 pm [link] · View reader comments (2) · Comment
QUICKLINK Missouri · May 6, 2008 · Freedom of information
Mo. governor's office is overcharging for e-mails, lawsuit claims
A special investigative team set up by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon is suing to force Gov. Matt Blunt and the state's custodian of records to release state government e-mails for free after the governor's office attempted to charge $540,940 for them, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report.
The lawsuit also claims that Gov. Blunt's then-chief of staff and other high-ranking state officials ordered that backup tapes . . . [more]
— Scott Albright, 5:11 pm [link] · Comments: 0 · Comment
QUICKLINK Illinois · May 6, 2008 · Secret courts
Ill. high court denies request to unseal R. Kelly documents
The Illinois Supreme Court on Monday denied without comment a motion to unseal documents in the child pornography case against R&B singer R. Kelly.
The Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Associated Press filed an emergency motion in Cook County court last week, arguing a First Amendment right to the pretrial records and proceedings, but Judge Vincent Gaughan said this was not an emergency and instead scheduled a hearing on . . . [more]
— Jennifer Koons, 2:39 pm [link] · Comments: 0 · Comment
SIDEBAR New York · May 5, 2008 · Libel
Judge sues columnist over allegation of conflict
Libel suits brought by judges are always a serious concern for journalists because of the deferential treatment judges are often given in the legal system, as two recent cases have taught us.
A recent libel case filed by a New York state judge makes the point just as directly -- the judge is suing because a New York Daily News columnist said he should have recused himself from a case being litigated by someone the columnist said was the judge's "personal counsel."
Regardless of whether the lawyer's representation was less substantial than that, or whether he should have recused himself in any case, it seems clear that a judge should not resort to litigation over criticism of his public duties.
If reporters cannot freely report on the courts without fearing multimillion-dollar lawsuits, the . . . [more]
— Gregg Leslie, 5:02 pm [link] Keywords: Judges; Lawsuits · Comments: 0 · Comment
SIDEBAR Idaho · May 5, 2008 · Freedom of information
Court: Forest Service can redact employee names
The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco (9th Cir.) reached an unsettling conclusion last week when it allowed the names of 23 federal employees to be withheld after they were investigated following the death of two U.S. Forest Service firefighters in July 2003.
Following the blaze in the Salmon-Challis National Forest in Idaho that killed firefighters Shane Heath and Jeff Allen, the Forest Service was investigated and criticized by both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the agency's inspector general. Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against the firefighting team's leader, Cmdr. Alan Hackett, who was convicted and agreed to have his name released after being sentenced to probation.
When the watchdog group [more]
— Scott Albright, 12:28 pm [link] Keywords: Privacy · Comments: 0 · Comment
SIDEBAR Wisconsin · May 5, 2008 · Libel
Students charged with criminal defamation
Two Wisconsin high school students were charged with criminal defamation after assembling and posting a nude photo collage of a female classmate.
After the unnamed classmate accused him of throwing a bowling ball through the front door of her home, Tyler Schultz, who previously dated the student, composed the montage using 11 photographs that she had sent to him and other students at the school via cell phone. Michael Meyer-Senty, another of her former boyfriends, later posted five copies of the collage throughout one of the school’s locker rooms.
Under Wisconsin law, criminal defamation is a Class A misdemeanor, defining defamatory matter as “anything which exposes the other to hatred, contempt, ridicule, degradation or disgrace in society or injury in the other’s business or occupation.”
Criminal . . . [more]
— Matthew Pollack, 12:23 pm [link] Keywords: Criminal Libel · Comments: 0 · Comment
QUICKLINK New York · May 2, 2008 · Libel
New York enacts Libel Terrorism Protection Act
Gov. David Paterson signed the Libel Terrorism Protection Act on Thursday, helping New York set the pace in protecting American journalists from foreign libel verdicts.
The bill was first proposed in response to a ruling from New York’s highest court that the state could not exercise jurisdiction over Khalid Salim a Bin Mahfouz, a Saudi Arabian businessman and banker who obtained a default judgment in a defamation suit against American author Rachel Ehrenfeld in a British court. Bin Mahfouz is one of the . . . [more]
— Matthew Pollack, 2:00 pm [link] Keywords: Libel tourism · Comments: 0 · Comment
QUICKLINK Tennessee · May 1, 2008 · Freedom of information
Tennessee Senate approves open records bill
The Tennessee Senate today unanimously passed a new open records measure (SB 3280)
If enacted, the bill would revamp the state’s public records law by, among other things, establishing a deadline for agencies to respond to information requests.
A companion bill ([more]
— Jennifer Koons, 4:15 pm [link] · Comments: 0 · Comment
QUICKLINK Rhode Island · May 1, 2008 · Freedom of information
R.I. Senate committee approves open records measure
Rhode Island's Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved legislation to update the state's open records law.
The proposed bill would limit the time to three days instead of the current 10, with some exceptions. Police departments would have just 24 hours to respond to requests seeking arrest . . . [more]
— Jennifer Koons, 4:07 pm [link]
· Comments: 0 · Comment
QUICKLINK South Dakota · May 1, 2008 · Libel
Judge rules libel case against 'Argus Leader' will go to jury trial
South Dakota Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Caldwell ruled this week that a jury ought to decide a libel case between the Argus Leader [Sioux Falls] and the former president of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.
In November, the newspaper moved to dismiss the suit, which stems from a column it ran featuring a satirical letter of apology from former Sioux Falls Development Foundation President Dan Scott. The column ran on the paper’s Voices section . . . [more]
— Jennifer Koons, 3:31 pm [link] · Comments: 0 · Comment
QUICKLINK Hawaii · April 30, 2008 · Reporter's privilege
Hawaii legislature passes shield bill
Both houses of Hawaii's legislature yesterday passed a shield bill that would allow journalists to protect confidential sources and other information. The bill now goes to the governor.
The shield bill would create what is in some cases an absolute privilege. In felony prosecutions and libel cases, the privilege would be qualified; it could be overcome if the information was unavailable from other sources, . . . [more]
— Posted at 3:49 pm [link] · Comments: 0 · Comment
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE Arizona · April 30, 2008 · Reporter's privilege
Ariz. newspaper executives sue over arrest
Two news executives this week sued Arizona officials over their controversial late-night arrests last year. Michael Lacey, the executive editor, and Jim Larkin, chief executive, of the Phoenix New Times filed suit on Tuesday against Sheriff Joseph Arpaio, county attorney Andrew Thomas and former county special prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik and two county agencies.
The move is the latest in an ongoing battle between the paper and county officials. In October, Lacey and Larkin were arrested for revealing in a front page story that Wilenchik subpoenaed a startling amount of information from the paper and its reporters, including every story the New Times published about Arpaio since Jan. 1, 2004, all of the notes, tapes and records of the reporters dealing with Arpaio in the same time frame, and the identity, browsing habits, and buying habits of all New Times online readers. A superior court judge later found that . . . [more]
— Matthew Pollack, 3:26 pm [link] Keywords: Arizona; Jailed journalists; Lawsuits · Comments: 0 · Comment
QUICKLINK Illinois · April 29, 2008 · Secret courts
Chicago papers ask Illinois high court to unseal R. Kelly files
Three news organizations asked the Illinois Supreme Court on Monday to issue a supervisory order that would unseal documents in the child pornography case against R&B singer R. Kelly.
The Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Associated Press filed an emergency motion in Cook County court last week, arguing a First Amendment right to the pretrial records and proceedings, but Judge Vincent Gaughan said this was not an . . . [more]
— Jennifer Koons, 11:29 am [link] · Comments: 0 · Comment
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE South Carolina · April 28, 2008 · Freedom of information
Law halts access to concealed weapons permit holders
A new law that recently passed in South Carolina exempts names of concealed weapons permit holders from the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
The bill, signed into law on April 16, bars the public from knowing the names of the more than 60,000 permit holders in the state. Access is limited to law enforcement officials or through a court order only.
Bill Rogers, executive director of the South Carolina Press Association, said proponents of the measure were prompted by a March 2007 column on the Roanoke Times' Web site, which linked to the more than 130,000 permit holders in Virginia. The link was quickly removed after backlash from the public and gun enthusiasts.
“Privacy trumped open government,” Rogers said. And the publishing of the list "was the incendiary device that pushed it over the top.”
Rogers said the bill's enactment was one of his “greatest fears."
“This is the first . . . [more]
— Amy Harder, 4:01 pm [link] Keywords: Concealed Weapons; Public Records · Comments: 0 · Comment
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE Maine · April 28, 2008 · Freedom of information
Maine high court rules against disclosing notes
The Portland Press Herald does not have the right to notes from a Portland School Committee executive meeting that discussed financial matters, the Main Supreme Court ruled on April 24.
In its unanimous ruling, the court also stated that the public was legitimately excluded from the 45-minute meeting that took place last summer.
The decision stemmed from a lawsuit the Blethen Main Newspapers, owner of the Press Herald, brought against the committee, alleging it had violated the state’s Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) when it was denied notes from a July 25 executive session. In the meeting, the school’s top employees discussed staff duties and responsibilities that could have led to the $2.5 million budget deficit, which the school was facing at the time.
The Press Herald claimed that the FOAA clearly states budget issues must be discussed in public meetings, but the high court disagreed, stating that the budget concerns weren't the main point of discussion in the . . . [more]
— Amy Harder, 2:38 pm [link] Keywords: Court Decisions; Public meetings · Comments: 0 · Comment
QUICKLINK U.S. · April 25, 2008 · Newsgathering
Bill that would strengthen offices of inspectors general passes Senate
A bill that would better shield offices of inspectors general from political pressures passed the Senate Wednesday. The House is also expected to approve the measure despite the prospect of a White House veto, according to an Associated Press report.
As a watered-down version of a House bill that passed in October, the Senate bill would allow Congress to more closely monitor the budget request process for offices of inspectors general, while also establishing a new council to . . . [more]
— Scott Albright, 5:47 pm [link] · Comments: 0 · Comment
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