Seattle Subpoena Fight Is First Amendment Dilemma

 My August column for the South Carolina Press Association...

Source secrecy in the modern era

My June column for the South Carolina Press Association:

The Justice Department’s accessing of reporter Ali Watkins’s email and phone records as part of a leak investigation is just one of several recent incidents in which the federal government has obtained the digital and other information about journalists’ activities in order to identify confidential sources.

The holes in South Carolina’s shield law

My July column for the South Carolina Press Association:

Yes, Bloggers Can Be Covered by Oregon's Shield Law

Back in late 2011, there was much hand-wringing over a decision by a federal judge in Oregon that a blogger could not invoke the state's reporters' shield law in a libel case against her because, in that particular situation, the blogger was not acting as a journalist.

Supreme Court's Risen Denial Probably a Good Thing

I wanted to write something on this topic, but because I injured my hand playing volleyball, I can't type much.

So I'm glad Matthew Cooper -- who has his own experience with reporters privilege -- has written an article explaining that the result would have likely been bad for the press had the U.S. Supreme Court decided to review the James Risen case. The court declined to review the case on Monday.

Senate Shield Bill Is Actually Pretty Broad

(cross posted at the Digital Media Law Project)
 An amended bill passed Sept. 12 by the Senate Judiciary Committee to protect journalists from being forced to reveal confidential sources in federal court includes a relatively broad definition of who would be covered by the law; a definition that would include most bloggers.

"Dirty" Journalism

In the past, while writing about a lawsuit brought by former teacher and Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader Sarah Jones -- which resulted in a $338,000 jury verdict for Jones earlier this month -- I stated that "thedirty.com is a tasteless website." And it is.

Phone Searches: Yes, It's Happened Before

The revelation that the U.S. Department of Justice used records of Fox News reporter's James Rosen phone calls, e-mails and security badge access to the State Department and named Rosen as a co-conspirator in the a case against accused leaker Stephen Jin-Woo Kim has combined with the revelation of subpoenas for phone records of the Associated Press in another leak investigation has led to a tizzy in the mainstream media. The government's actions have been called "outrageous," "overreaching," "unconstitutional," "Nixonian" and "stupid."

AP Phone Subpoenas Point to Larger Problem

(cross posted on the blog of the Counts Law Group)
The revelation that the Justice Department obtained cell and landline telephone records of several Associated Press reporters, and Attorney General Eric Holder's admission that he was "not sure" how many other searches of reporters' phone records he had approved since taking his position in 2009, is a reminder to journalists, politicians and lawyers -- and perhaps a revelation to many of them -- that reporters may not have as much legal protection for their sources as they may have thought.

Blogger Issue Destroys a Shield

Hawaii and Wyoming don't have a whole lot in common, but they will soon be the only two states that do not recognize any sort of privilege for reporters to protect confidential sources. (Forty states have shield statutes, while courts in nine states recognize the privilege in some form.) Wyoming has never recognized a reporters' privilege, but Hawaii will lose its reporters privilege on June 30, when a shield law adopted in 2008 expires.

Florida Court Finds Blog to be Media

A Florida trial judge has held that a blogger qualifies as a media defendant under a procedural rule that requires five days notice before filing of a defamation lawsuit. De Rosas v. Johnson, No. 2012-32919-CA-01 (Fla. Cir. Ct. 2013). The ruling, which is not available online, was reported by Law360.

New Jersey Blogger Invokes Shield Law

A New Jersey blogger is the latest to fight a subpeona for information based on the claim that she is not covered by the state's shield law.

Amici Line Up In Appeal of "Blogger Not a Journalist" Ruling

(cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)
A federal judge's ruling that a blogger was not covered by Oregon's reporters' shield law is being appealed to the Ninth Circuit, and is getting some amicus support from media organizations. But the appeal -- and the amici -- are not addressing the main issue that led to an online uproar over the trial judge's initial decision.

On Reconsideration, Illinois Judge Holds Blog Is Protected By Shield Law

(cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)
On a motion for reconsideration, an Illinois trial judge who held in January that the technology news blog TechnoBuffalo.com was not protected by Illinois' reporter's shield law (75 Ill. Comp. Stat. §§ 5/8-901 - 8-909) has reversed himself, holding now [pdf] that "within the present definitions under the Act, this Court must find TechnoBuffalo is a news medium, its employees are reporters, including the employee who wrote the article at issue, and TechnoBuffalo is protected by the Illinois reporter’s privilege."

Judge Defends His Decision on Blogger

(cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)
Federal Judge Marco A. Hernandez got a lot of attention and cyberchatter late last year when he held that blogger Crystal Cox was not protected by Oregon's reporters' shield law, leading to a $2.5 million defamation verdict against her. See Obsidian Finance Group, LLC v. Cox, No. CV-11-57-H (D. Or. Nov. 30, 2011).

Now, You Can Worry

cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)

A few weeks ago, I wrote that bloggers should not be too concerned about a decision by a federal judge in Oregon that blogger Crystal Cox is was not protected by Oregon's reporters' shield law in a defamation suit. But a new decision in Illinois reaching the same conclusion is more problematic.

No, the Sky is Not Failling: Explaining that Decision in Oregon

(cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)
For an update on this post, see http://bloglawonline.blogspot.com/2012/04/judge-defends-his-decision-on-blogger.html.

There's been a lot of buzz online (and now in the New York Times) about a decision by a federal judge in Oregon who released a decision last week holding that blogger Crystal Cox is was not protected by Oregon's reporters' shield law in a defamation suit against her, which led to a $2.5 million verdict against her. See Obsidian Finance Group, LLC v. Cox, No. CV-11-57-H (D. Or. Nov. 30, 2011). But most of the buzz and criticism is based on an erroneous reading of the decision.