For more information

HIPAA: The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights has an online guide to HIPAA at www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has a guide to help journalists understand the new medical privacy regulation. The guide is online at: www.rcfp.org/pullouts/medicalprivacy/

The Reporters Committee also follows developments in state policies on electronic access to court records at: www.rcfp.org/courtaccess/

Investigative Reporters and Editors Resource Center database of investigative stories is online at www.ire.org/resourcecenter/.

Stories cited:

Austin American-Statesman, "Spills and explosions reveal lax regulation of powerful industry," July 22, 2001

Dateline NBC, "Swept Away," June 27, 1995

Dateline NBC, "The Paper Chase," June 23, 2000

Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, "Ohio: The Gunrunner's Paradise," Dec. 10, 2000

Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch, "Protecting the Water We Drink," Jan. 21, 1990

KOMU-TV Columbia, Mo., "Dangerous Dams," Nov. 10-11, 1997

Los Angeles Times, "A Man's Asylum Fight in the Land of the Free, Judge's Behavior Sparks Outrage but Little Relief, Few Applicants Succeed in Immigration Courts," April 15, 2001

Los Angeles Times, "Calls for Reducing Chromium Levels in Water Go Unheeded," Aug. 22, 2000 to Nov. 29, 2000

Providence Journal-Bulletin, "R.I. System Fails to Fully Check Driving Records of Bus Applicants," May 11, 1986, and March 1, 1987

The Boston Globe, "Dangerous Passages," June 4, 2000

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, "DRUG TRIALS: Do People Know the Truth About Experiments?" Dec. 15-18, 1996

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, "Safety on Hold," Jan. 17-18, 1999, and Feb. 12, 1999

The Columbus Dispatch, "Wheels of Justice," Nov. 17-19, 1996

The Dallas Morning News, "851 Detained for Years in INS Centers," April 1, 2001

The Denver Post, "Guns for Sale," Sept. 19-21, 1999

The Washington Post, "Targeting Guns: The Police Connection," Nov. 12, 1999

Time, investigation of Nuclear Regulatory Commission, March 4, 1996

WOAI-TV San Antonio, "A Cosy Connection," Oct. 17, Oct. 22, 2002

WSMV-TV Nashville, "Disabled former patrolman defended criminals," Sept. 23, 2002

Statutes cited:

The Drivers Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2721 et seq. (2000)

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"), Pub. L. No. 104-191 (104th Cong., 2nd Sess.)

Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm. - CEII guidelines, 68 Fed. Reg. 151 (Aug. 6, 2003), modifying 18 CFR Part 388

Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135

Cases cited:

Cable News Network, Inc. v. Berger, 526 U.S. 1154 (1999)

Department of Treasury v. City of Chicago, 123 S.Ct. 536, 71 U.S.L.W. 3337 (U.S. Nov. 12, 2002), granting certiorari in City of Chicago v. United States Dept. of Treasury, 287 F.3d 628 (7th Cir. 2002)

Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft, 303 F. 3d 681 (6th Cir. 2002)

North Jersey Media Group, Inc. v. Ashcroft, 308 F.3d 198 (N.J. 2002)

State v. Neulander, 801 A.2d 255 (N.J. 2002), cert. den. sub nom Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. New Jersey, 123 S.Ct. 1281, 71 USLW 3443 (U.S. Feb 24, 2003)

Wilson v. Layne, 526 U.S. 603 (1999)