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Wikileaks Would Not Qualify To Claim Federal Reporter’S Privilege In Any Form, Jonathan Peters
Wikileaks Would Not Qualify To Claim Federal Reporter’S Privilege In Any Form, Jonathan Peters
Federal Communications Law Journal
This Article addresses whether WikiLeaks could claim a federal reporter's privilege if the U.S. government or a U.S. entity tried to compel one of the site's staff members to disclose the source(s) of any documents it has released. After exploring the origins of the First Amendment-based privilege, the Author argues that WikiLeaks would not be able to claim it. First, the website does not engage in investigative reporting. Second, it has not taken steps consistently to minimize harm. He also discusses congressional attempts to pass a federal shield law, paying special attention to H.R. 985 and S. 448, the two …
Protecting The Cloak And Dagger With An Illusory Shield: How The Proposed Free Flow Of Information Act Falls Short, Jill Laptosky
Protecting The Cloak And Dagger With An Illusory Shield: How The Proposed Free Flow Of Information Act Falls Short, Jill Laptosky
Federal Communications Law Journal
Journalists who use secret sources may be presented with a staggering dilemma-disclose the source to comply with a subpoena or go to jail to protect the source. Despite the U.S. Supreme Court's holding in Branzburg v. Hayes (1972), most jurisdictions now recognize that journalists have a privilege not to disclose their confidential sources when compelled to do so by the government. While the degree of the privilege's protection varies across jurisdictions, the fact that such a privilege exists at all may surprise anyone who has read Branzburg, which held that the First Amendment cannot support the existence of the privilege. …