I. Introduction: History & Background

Oklahoma has had a shield law since 1974. Originally adopted at the urging of the Oklahoma Press Association following the Supreme Court's decision in Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665 (1972), the journalist's privilege statute is now incorporated in the state's evidence code. It has been the subject of only one reported case, Taylor v. Miskovsky, 1981 OK 143, 640 P.2d 959. However, in the twenty-five years since that decision, the privilege has often been invoked by reporters who have found themselves the target of discovery in criminal and civil proceedings in which they are not directly involved. As a result, there are a number of unreported decisions at the trial level that give some indication how the courts treat the statute and the First Amendment principles that underlie it.