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July 2018

MediaLawLetter June 2018

PUBLICATION:

in this issue

MLRC Criminal Law Committee

The MLRC’s newest Committee is off and running! The MLRC recently announced the formation the Criminal Law Committee, which will address the growing intersections between criminal and media law, from protecting journalists and sources from criminal liability to navigating search warrants and government subpoenas. Kaitlin Gurney of Pepper Hamilton and Jacquelyn Schell of Ballard Spahr…

MediaLawLetter June 2018

 Download Publication MLRC From the Executive Director’s Desk: MLRC’s European Media Lawyers Conference in Berlin MLRC Criminal Law Committee 10 Questions to a Media Lawyer: Dale Cohen SUPREME COURT Technology at the Supreme CourtSouth Dakota v. Wayfair and Carpenter v. United States LIBEL & PRIVACY S.D. Fla.: Federal Court Applies New York Fair and True…

MLRC’s European Media Lawyers Conference in Berlin

From the Executive Director’s Desk By Dave Heller (Guest Column) George is taking a well-deserved break from column writing this month so the pleasure falls to me to report on MLRC’s most recent foray into Europe – our 4th Annual European Media Lawyers Conference held on June 18th in Berlin. By way of quick background,…

10 Questions to a Media Lawyer: Dale Cohen

Dale Cohen is Director of the Documentary Film Legal Clinic at UCLA’s School of Law and Special Counsel at PBS’s FRONTLINE documentary series. 1. How’d you get into media law? What was your first job? I grew up in New York, a great newspaper city. Like so many others, I held a romantic view of…

Georgia Court Confirms Government Discretion to Release Records Exempted from Open Records Act

By Meredith Kincaid “Owners of vehicles that are exempt from emissions testing requirements are not prohibited from testing their vehicles’ emissions. If a teacher tells his students that an extra credit assignment is not required, a student who completes the work would be quite annoyed if the teacher rejected it as prohibited. And a daughter…

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Colorado Supreme Court Holds There Is No Constitutional Protection for Public Access to Court Records

By Steve Zansberg In a stunning ruling that has attracted widespread criticism, on June 21, 2018, the Colorado Supreme Court held that the First Amendment provides no protection for the public’s right to inspect or copy records on file in state courts. People v. Owens. The ruling came in a completed capital murder case. Owens…

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Judge Tosses Libel Suit Based on Environmental Activists’ Facebook Post

By Steve Zansberg On June 20, 2018, a Colorado state court trial judge granted summary judgment to defendant Pete Kobenschlag, in a libel case filed against him by a Texas oil and gas company (SG Interests, or “SGI”) on grounds that Kolbenschlag’s Facebook post — stating the company was “fined” for colluding with another company…

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City Hearing Officer a Public Official

Plaintiff Has Responsibility and Control Over Conduct of Governmental Affairs By Martin R. Esquivel Ruling in favor of a local television station, the New Mexico Court of Appeals held that a city-employed administrative hearing officer is a public official for purposes of a defamation claim. Reina v. Lin Television Corp, d/b/a KRQE and Larry Barker…

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Fourth Circuit Affirms Directed Verdict for TV Station

Opinion Offers Guidance of Public Official Status; Protection for Confidential Sources By Conrad M. Shumadine and Brett A. Spain The Fourth Circuit’s opinion in Horne v. WTVR, 2018 WL3014903 (4th Cir. June 18, 2018) contains an excellent discussion of the requirements necessary to prove actual malice and a clear affirmation of a reporter’s ability to…

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Federal Court Applies New York Fair and True Report Privilege to BuzzFeed’s Publication of Trump Dossier

By Adam Lazier A Florida federal court has ruled that BuzzFeed’s publication of the controversial “Trump Dossier” may be protected by New York’s fair and true report privilege. Gubarev v. BuzzFeed, Inc., Case No. 1:17-cv-60426-UU (S.D. Fla. June 4, 2018). The ruling comes less than a month after a New York state court reached the…

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Technology at the Supreme Court

South Dakota v. Wayfair and Carpenter v. United States By Jeff Hermes On back-to-back days in late June of 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court released opinions in a pair of cases testing how changes in technology affect the Court’s interpretation of constitutional principles: South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., No. 17-494 (June 21, 2018) and Carpenter…