Keyword: Grand Jury
Items: 15 (1 pages)
QUICKLINK New York · February 10, 2010 · Newsgathering
Judge quashes subpoena to unmask anonymous commenters
A New York judge yesterday granted Straus Newspapers' motion to quash a prosecutors' subpoena that sought the identities of anonymous web posters on a newspaper website, the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record reported.
The comments appeared on the website of The Chronicle, a weekly paper that covers the cities of Chester and Goshen, N.Y., and were about Helen Ann Livingston, a superintendent who resigned last fall. The subpoena came after . . . [more]
— Cristina Abello, 3:38 pm · View reader comments (9)
QUICKLINK Illinois · November 21, 2008 · Freedom of information
Governor loses records battle over subpoenas
The governor of Illinois must turn over federal subpoenas to requesters, an appeals court ruled Thursday.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration is under federal investigation, and several indictments have been handed down against those close to him. A watchdog group, the Better Government Association, sought copies of subpoenas sent to Blagojevich under the state open records law.
A state . . . [more]
— Hannah Bergman, 11:42 am · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Louisiana · October 14, 2008 · Freedom of information
News outlets push for Katrina-related investigation records
The Louisiana Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in an open-records dispute over documents from a state investigation into the highly publicized post-Hurricane Katrina deaths of patients at Memorial Medical Center.
The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune and CNN brought the lawsuit. According to a Times-Picayune story, investigative files in Louisiana are typically closed to the public while criminal charges are pending or “reasonably anticipated.” But the newspaper . . . [more]
— Hannah Bergman, 5:45 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Pennsylvania · August 18, 2008 · Secret courts
AP seeks access to Pa. judge's grand jury leak probe
The Associated Press wants a Pennsylvania judge to open up his inquiry into grand jury leaks from a casino owner's perjury case, in an ongoing matter that has so far seen more than a dozen subpoenas of reporters sent out, and then quashed.
In a motion filed Friday to intervene, the AP reports it argued against Dauphin County Judge Todd Hoover's "wholesale sealing of the proceedings." Hoover was directed by the state Supreme Court to look into leaks from the grand jury inquiry that led to . . . [more]
— Kathleen Cullinan, 3:22 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK New York · July 23, 2008 · Secret courts
Most grand jury testimony from Rosenberg trial to be released
A federal judge in New York decided Tuesday not to release the grand jury testimony of a crucial witness in Ethel Rosenberg's 1950s espionage case, although other related witness transcripts will be made public, The New York Times reported.
Open government advocates and historians, including the Washington, D.C.-based National Security Archives, petitioned Judge Alvin K. . . . [more]
— Stacey Laskin, 5:07 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK California · July 17, 2008 · Reporter's privilege
Judge asks Wash. Times reporter to justify refusal to give up sources
A California judge subpoenaed Washington Times reporter William Gertz in May over suspected grand jury leaks in a Chinese espionage case. Now, if Gertz refuses to divulge his sources, as he's indicated he will do, the judge wants him to appear in court and say why.
The New York Sun details the concerns of free-press advocates about the implications of Judge Cormac Carney's request. The judge wants Gertz to . . . [more]
— Kathleen Cullinan, 5:22 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Oregon · July 16, 2008 · Reporter's privilege
Ore. activist won't have to give grand jury tape of rally arrest
An Oregon videographer is off the hook after prosecutors backed off their bid for unpublished segments of a tape he shot at a rally, which they had planned to present to a grand jury, according to The [Eugene] Register Guard.
Tim Lewis invoked the state shield law in court papers filed before a hearing set for Tuesday, only to have prosecutors withdraw their subpoena for video he . . . [more]
— Kathleen Cullinan, 5:05 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Pennsylvania · July 7, 2008 · Reporter's privilege
Lawyer wanted subpoenaed reporters' cell phone numbers
A lawyer investigating a grand jury leak turned to Pennsylvania state legislative staffers to get the cell phone numbers of at least eight reporters already subpoenaed in the case, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Senate Minority Leader Robert J. Mellow said it was a routine constituent service for his staff to help attorney Sal Cognetti find cell numbers of reporters subpoenaned in an investigation involving his client.
Cognetti represents a Catholic priest who, along with casino . . . [more]
— Stacey Laskin, 5:11 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK New York · June 25, 2008 · Secret courts
Prosecutors agree to release of Rosenberg grand jury records
Federal prosecutors on Monday took the rare step of agreeing to the release of historic grand jury testimony -- the nearly 60-year-old statements of witnesses in Ethel and Julius Rosenberg's espionage case.
If a U.S. District Court judge agrees to the government's offer, it would mean the first public airing of the statements of 35 case witnesses who have either died or agreed to let out their secret testimony. The non-profit National . . . [more]
— Kathleen Cullinan, 10:53 am · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Pennsylvania · June 12, 2008 · Reporter's privilege
Subpoenas issued for 15 reporters in Pa. grand jury leak probe
In a hunt for the source of a grand jury leak, lawyers for a Pennsylvania casino owner have demanded that 15 reporters, including several from The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Associated Press, turn over their notes and personal cell phone bills.
The subpoenas are part of a judge's hearing into whether a special prosecutor should be appointed to investigate the leak.
Two [Allentown] Morning Call reporters were among those served with subpoenas . . . [more]
— Kathleen Cullinan, 4:35 pm · Comments: 0
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE Colorado · April 8, 2008 · Secret courts
Colorado high court orders indictment unsealed
The Colorado Supreme Court decided to unseal an indictment against a man suspected in the disappearance of his young daughter.
In an opinion issued April 7, the state’s highest court ordered the Arapahoe County District Court to unseal the indictment against Aaron Thompson. The decision came in a suit brought by The Denver Post and the Associated Press to unseal the record at the district court.
Steve Zansburg, the attorney representing the Post and AP, said unsealing this indictment is crucial in giving the public a more complete picture of the charges lodged against Thompson.
“We’re pleased with the result that the indictment is going to be unsealed and the public will have access,” Zansburg said. “For all this time, almost a year now, the public has been in the dark about what facts the grand jury found that were sufficient to bring 60 counts [against Thompson].”
The state supreme court ordered the district court to release the entire indictment with . . . [more]
— Amy Harder, 4:25 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK · February 25, 2008 · Secret courts
Newspaper executives sue county over arrests
Two executives with the Phoenix New Times have filed a notice of intent to sue the county for $15 million over their arrests last year, after they reported on a grand jury investigation -- which itself was conducted to find information about a story in the newpaper. The special prosecutor running the investigation had subpoenaed the newspaper for the identities of anyone who would have read the articles on the paper's web site, but the subpoena was later quashed by a . . . [more]
— Posted at 5:48 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK · February 1, 2008 · Secret courts
1950s grand jury spy transcripts sought
Transcripts from grand jury proceedings conducted in the 1950s on a spy case were sought today by the National Security Archive, a government oversight group based at George Washington University. Arguing that the "unique historical value" of the records outweighs any need for secrecy, the archive asked a federal court in Manhattan to order their release.
The grand jury transcripts are . . . [more]
— Corinna Zarek, 5:02 pm · Comments: 0
COMMENTARY · December 4, 2007 · Reporter's privilege
Judge rejects subpoenas for reporters, dodges privilege issue
A federal trial judge in San Diego ruled on Monday that a defense contractor convicted of bribing former U.S. Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham could not subpoena reporters to determine the source of leaks in his grand jury investigation.
In doing so, though, Judge Larry A. Burns refused to reach the reporters’ arguments that the First Amendment and California’s shield law protected them from being hailed to court. Rather, Burns rejected the attempt because Brent Wilkes could not show that he suffered any injustice as a result of the leak.
“Having been convicted by a jury . . . Wilkes must now show the fairness of his trial was prejudiced by the grand jury leaks,” Burns wrote, adding that while he shared the defendant’s concern over the leak, it did not, of itself, justify dismissing the indictment.
— Matthew Pollack, 5:43 pm · Comments: 0
COMMENTARY · November 29, 2007 · Reporter's privilege
Judge: No additional penalty for overbroad, deficient subpoenas
Marking the end of a bizarre case, the AP reports that Superior Court Judge Anna M. Baca refused to take any additional action despite ruling that former special prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik failed to comply with state law when he issued subpoenas on the Phoenix New Times and two of its reporters.
The judge previously quashed the subpoenas, which sought a startling amount of information from the paper and its reporters, including every story the New Times published about Sheriff Joe 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.
Michael Lacey, the paper’s executive editor, and Jim Larkin, chief executive, both spent a night in jail after disclosing the dramatic demands of the subpoena. Soon after . . . [more]
— Matthew Pollack, 5:52 pm · Comments: 0
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