Journalists' Privilege to Withhold Information in Judicial and Other Proceedings: State Shield Statutes

Abstract

Absent a statutory or constitutional recognition of journalistic privilege, a reporter may be compelled to testify in legal, administrative, or other governmental proceedings. To date, thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have recognized a journalists privilege through enactment of press shield laws, which protect the relationship between reporters, their source, and sometimes, the information that may be communicated in that relationship. The journalists privilege is distinct from other recognized privileges, in that the privilege vests only with the journalist, not with the source of the information. This report briefly provides an overview of general trends among the states individual statutes. The remainder of this report sets forth the full text of the state shield statutes.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 08, 2005
Accession Number
ADA445483

Entities

People

  • Carey Lening
  • Henry Cohen

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Attorneys
  • Cable Television
  • District Of Columbia
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Law
  • Mass Media
  • Newspapers
  • Periodicals
  • Public Policy
  • Radio Broadcasting
  • Radio Stations
  • Supreme Court
  • Television Broadcasting
  • Television Stations
  • Television Systems
  • United States

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Nuclear and Radiation Engineering.