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hrmjustin

(71,265 posts)
Wed Sep 3, 2014, 11:12 AM Sep 2014

New York's Shield Law Protects Reporter from Subpoena

Jon Campbell

It came in a strange context, but New York's "shield law" seems to have done its job recently, helping a reporter protect his sources and work products after he was subpoenaed to testify in an Oklahoma divorce case.

New York's shield law protects journalists from contempt of court prosecutions when they refuse to testify about information gathered during their reporting, at least in some circumstances. It's designed primarily to protect confidential sources, even when revealing those sources might help the government prosecute a crime or, in this case, help a couple work out the terms of their parting.

The case began when plaintiff Sue Ann Hamm sought notes and interview recordings from Wall Street Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman. Zuckerman had interviewed Hamm's husband, Harold, about a book he was writing about the fracking business. Sue Ann believed those interviews had touched on the couple's finances, relevant for the division of assets, so her lawyers issued a subpoena for a wide range of Zuckerman's materials, thinking that some of the discussions might shed light on Harold's credibility.

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2014/09/new_york_shield_law_protects_reporter_from_subpoena.php

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