I. Introduction: History & Background

Anecdotal evidence indicates that few subpoenas are issued to news organizations in Wyoming. The subpoenas that have been issued usually ask the reporter to testify that his or her story is accurate. The infrequent use of subpoenas on news organizations may explain why the state has never enacted a shield law, or why there is no case law from the Wyoming Supreme Court, the state's only appellate court, regarding the service of subpoenas on news organizations. The only known case in Wyoming where a news organization moved to quash a subpoena took place in U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming. The court denied the motion to quash and the decision was not appealed to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Order on Appeal from Magistrate's Order, Wilson v. Amoco, U.S. District Court for District of Wyoming, Docket No. 96-CV-0124-B (filed April 8, 1998). A state court is likely to look to federal law in any motion to quash a subpoena served on the news media because Wyoming does not have a shield law and has little case law regarding the state constitutional declaration of the right to freedom of speech and of the press.

No Wyoming journalist is known to have been fined or jailed for failing to comply with a subpoena.