Article Abstract:
The US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas ruled in In re Grand Jury Proceedings, American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. that the network could be ordered to relinquish unedited and unbroadcast portions of a "PrimeTime Live" interview with Susan McDougal. ABC argued that the materials were privileged under both federal and state law. The Court agreed with the special prosecutor that the reporter's privilege did not exist in federal grand jury proceedings, and even if it did exist, the prosecutor had demonstrated that no other source was available for the information.
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Article Abstract:
A US district court in Texas stayed the contempt order of a state court and ultimately found that a reporter was protected from revealing sources used in a newspaper article about grand jury proceedings in a police misconduct case. Under Texas law, grand jury proceedings are secret, and jurors are not to speak with press. Juror misconduct investigations focused on the reporters sources, and the state courts ruled that the reporter was not protected. The federal court found that the state had failed to overcome the privilege because other information sources had not been exhausted.
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Article Abstract:
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in Shoen v. Shoen that the plaintiffs in a libel suit failed to demonstrate that records of a reporter's communications with the defendant should be released. The lower court had levied contempt orders against an author that had interviewed the defendant one month after the alleged libelous statements were made for refusing to release records. The appeals court found the plaintiffs had failed to meet the burden required to overcome the journalist's privilege.
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