• A Georgia state appellate court vacated contempt orders against a reporter from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a case stemming from the Atlanta Olympics bombing, and upheld a determination that former bombing suspect Richard Jewell was a public figure.

The Georgia Court of Appeals in Atlanta on Oct. 10 dissolved a contempt order that initially would have jailed two newspaper reporters for refusing to reveal confidential sources in the investigation of the 1996 bombing at the summer Olympics.

One-time suspect Richard Jewell sued The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for libel in 1997 for publishing stories that named him as a target of the FBI's investigation. Jewell, who was eventually cleared in the investigation, demanded the identities of the sources who had named him as a suspect.

A state trial judge ordered reporters Kathy Scruggs and Ron Martz to jail in June 1999 for refusing to reveal the sources, but the contempt order was stayed while the newspaper appealed. Scruggs died in September of this year while the case was on appeal.

A three-judge appellate panel ruled that the trial judge failed to properly balance Jewell's need for the identities of the confidential informants against the newspaper's interest in protecting the sources' privacy and freedom of the press.

The opinion, written by Judge Edward H. Johnson, ordered the trial judge to balance those interests. Jewell will have to identify every statement that he claims is libelous. Then, the trial court must decide whether Jewell can prove the statements were untrue and whether he can prove the statements false by using evidence other than the confidential sources, the opinion says.

"If Jewell cannot succeed on a specific allegation of libel as a matter of law, or if Jewell is able to prove his specific allegation through the use of available alternative means, then the trial court's balancing test should favor non-disclosure of confidential sources," Johnson wrote.

The ruling also upholds the trial court's finding that Jewell is a public figure, meaning he must prove actual malice to win damages. Under that standard, he must show that the newspaper published the information knowing it was false or with reckless disregard as to its truth. If he were a private figure, he would have to show only that the newspaper was negligent.

(Atlanta Journal-Constitution v. Jewell; Media Counsel: Peter Canfield, Atlanta) -- MD

Related stories:

• Jewell deemed voluntary 'limited purpose public figure' (10/6/1999)
• Reporters held in contempt over source of Jewell allegations (6/14/1999)
• Newspaper again ordered to reveal source of Jewell disclosures (4/5/1999)

Return to: RCFP Home; News Page