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quote:
Originally posted by pba:
Amy Goodman: Freedom of press needs shield law:

Josh Wolf, videographer and blogger, is now the journalist imprisoned longest in U.S. history for refusing to comply with a subpoena.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/303661_amy15.html


In this Case Amy Goodman is completely correct. In any case that a person, on grounds of confidentiality provides a lead to criminal or unethical behavior, she is correct, BUT, when a Criminal confesses to a reporter, the criminal cannot expect the kind of confidentiality that is provided in the Lawyer Client relationship. REPORTERS DO NOT PROSECUTE OR DEFEND CRIMINAL ACTS. They report them publicly. If Wolf has film that shows someone attempting to burn a police car, he has no legitimate expectation of confidentiality, UNLESS HE IS THE PERPETRATOR.
He does not have that expectatkon, even if he has been threatened by the perpetrator is a friend of the perpetrator, or is married to the perpetrator.

The difficulty here is Wolf DOES HAVE A RIGHT TO HIS WORK PRODUCT. He cannot claim that the film does not show an attempt to burn the police car, but he can insist that the film not be published outside of a courtroom without his consent.

The issue is more complex than Goodman makes it appear, and there has not been sufficient public information to draw any reasonable comclusions.

The deciding factor in a press shield must be the status of the source. The Valerie Plame exposure is a case in point. The person, or persons, who revealed the nature of the job Plame was doing was COMMITTING A CRIME. It made no difference if the reciever of the classified information was a Reporter or a Massad agent. Revealing it to an unauthorized individual is a crime. EVEN IF THE PERSON REVEALING THE INFORMATION WAS NOT AUTHORIZED TO HAVE IT. Unless the revealer was also NOT CLEARED to have the information, and then the criminal was the person who revealed it to the person who revealed it to the reporter.

EVEN ATTORNEIES DO NOT HAVE IMMUNITY IF THEY ARE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN A CRIMINAL ACT.

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