Judge Says Advocacy Groups May Need a Source Privilege

· Story link

Public advocacy groups have a right to claim a confidential source privilege, just as do reporters, a federal judge ruled. New York Magistrate Judge Viktor Pohorelsky said that Amnesty International did not have to disclose the names of lawyers who were quoted anonymously in a report on prison guards surreptitiously videotaping conversations between attorneys and their prison clients. “Our sources depend on confidentiality to come forward,” an Amnesty official said. (1/3/07)