Michaelrosenblum
08-24-2006, 02:37 PM
Thought this would be of interest to you guys. Seems to be driven to some extent by the Josh Wolf case, though as a Federal Case it is irrelevant here.
California is the first state to ask for a national shield law
49 states protect journalists, but not in federal court
By Kimberly Geiger
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
California lawmakers, in an unusual display of unity, have made California the first state in the country to officially call on Congress to enact a federal shield law for the protection of journalists.
This week's 76-0 Assembly vote followed a 40-0 vote in the Senate last week. The resolution, AJR 31, by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, urged Congress to pass one of six federal shield law bills that have been introduced this session.
"Today we delivered a unified message to our representatives in Congress: Act now to save a free press," Evans said.
California is among 49 states and the District of Columbia that provide protections for journalists, but Evans said the absence of a federal shield law undermines state protections.
"A free press is essential to preserving the American way of life because it fosters a free flow of information," Evans said. "The lack of a federal shield law puts all of this at risk."
California's shield law -- enacted in 1935 and incorporated into the state Constitution in 1980 -- cannot protect journalists from federal subpoenas like the one that landed freelance journalist Joshua Wolf in jail earlier this month.
Wolf, a video journalist who refused to hand over footage of a July 2005 protest in San Francisco, was jailed by a federal judge Aug. 1. Because the federal government had partially paid for a police cruiser that was vandalized during the protest, Wolf's footage became a federal matter, making his protection under the state's shield law irrelevant.
Two reporters for The Chronicle are also facing jail time if they refuse to identify their sources of grand jury testimony in the Barry Bonds doping case. Reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, despite state protection, could be found in contempt of federal court.
"Two Chronicle reporters are facing potential jail time for news gathering activities that would be protected under the state Constitution," said Jim Ewert, a spokesperson for the California Newspaper Publishers Association, which sponsored the resolution. "Only in the absence of a federal shield law do they face a horrible fate." (read more)
California is the first state to ask for a national shield law
49 states protect journalists, but not in federal court
By Kimberly Geiger
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
California lawmakers, in an unusual display of unity, have made California the first state in the country to officially call on Congress to enact a federal shield law for the protection of journalists.
This week's 76-0 Assembly vote followed a 40-0 vote in the Senate last week. The resolution, AJR 31, by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, urged Congress to pass one of six federal shield law bills that have been introduced this session.
"Today we delivered a unified message to our representatives in Congress: Act now to save a free press," Evans said.
California is among 49 states and the District of Columbia that provide protections for journalists, but Evans said the absence of a federal shield law undermines state protections.
"A free press is essential to preserving the American way of life because it fosters a free flow of information," Evans said. "The lack of a federal shield law puts all of this at risk."
California's shield law -- enacted in 1935 and incorporated into the state Constitution in 1980 -- cannot protect journalists from federal subpoenas like the one that landed freelance journalist Joshua Wolf in jail earlier this month.
Wolf, a video journalist who refused to hand over footage of a July 2005 protest in San Francisco, was jailed by a federal judge Aug. 1. Because the federal government had partially paid for a police cruiser that was vandalized during the protest, Wolf's footage became a federal matter, making his protection under the state's shield law irrelevant.
Two reporters for The Chronicle are also facing jail time if they refuse to identify their sources of grand jury testimony in the Barry Bonds doping case. Reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, despite state protection, could be found in contempt of federal court.
"Two Chronicle reporters are facing potential jail time for news gathering activities that would be protected under the state Constitution," said Jim Ewert, a spokesperson for the California Newspaper Publishers Association, which sponsored the resolution. "Only in the absence of a federal shield law do they face a horrible fate." (read more)