Newsgathering
Arizona Law Banning Video Recording of Police Ruled Unconstitutional
Matthew E. KelleyRuling in favor of a coalition of news organizations, a federal judge has struck down an Arizona statute that would have made it a crime to record video of police within eight feet of them after being warned to stop.
Daniel Ellsberg: A Personal Remembrance of an American Hero
George FreemanThough in our volatile and combative times, many journalists – and their sources – are exceptionally courageous, and often sacrifice their well-being for their profession and causes, Ellsberg was the unequaled model for such behavior.
Court Dismisses Trump’s Tortious Interference Claim Against The New York Times
Samantha C. HamiltonJudge Reed’s decision is especially important for reporters who have sources with NDAs.
The Court and the Press in the Murdaugh Murders Trial
Jay BenderOn balance, the press members who were in Walterboro deserve as high a grade as the individuals who worked very hard to fulfill the provision in the South Carolina Constitution that all courts are public.
Florida Court Quashes Subpoena to Orlando Sentinel in Campaign Finance Trial
Minch MinchinA central Florida court denied a criminal defendant’s motion to subpoena four Orlando Sentinel Reporters under Florida’s journalists’ privilege.
The Right to Record: Same Circuit, Favorable Facts, Different Result
Mickey H. Osterreicher and Alicia Wagner CalzadaThe Tenth Circuit is the first even-numbered jurisdiction to join the consensus of authority on the right to record police in public despite, less than a year before, having refused to reach that conclusion in another case.
Minnesota Federal Court Enters Six-Year Permanent Injunction to Stop Abuse of Journalists and Protestors
Isabella Salomão Nascimento and Kevin RiachThe court approved a six-year monitored injunction which prohibits the Minnesota State Patrol from arresting, using projectiles or chemical munitions against, or otherwise targeting journalists, as part of a settlement agreement reached between the plaintiffs and two State of Minnesota law enforcement agencies.
Knight Institute and ACLU Ask Supreme Court to Revise Intelligence Agencies’ Systems of Prepublication Review
William HughesIn their present form, agency prepublication review regimes are sprawling and vague, and they lack the substantive and procedural safeguards the Supreme Court has ordinarily required of licensing schemes.
Police Officer Who Fired at Journalists During Protest Protected by Police Immunity Law
Andrew M. PauwelsThough finding that the photographers were not participants in the protest, were wearing press badges, and had not refused to comply with any specific direction from police, Judge Archer ruled that the statute immunized Corporal Debono from the charges and dismissed the case.
Fifth Circuit Decision: “It Is Not a Crime to Be a Journalist.”
JT MorrisA recent decision from the Fifth Circuit concluded that officials have no qualified immunity after they arrested a citizen journalist for asking a police officer for information as part of reporting the local news.