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Senate Judiciary Committee approves journalist shield bill

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The US Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Thursday that would protect journalists' abilities to shield sources in federal court proceedings. Under the Free Flow of Information Act, which was approved 14-5, the federal government would not be able compel a journalist to produce protected documents or sources unless the government shows it has exhausted other means of obtaining the information, that the information sought is vital to the resolution of the case, and that compelling the production of the document or source is in the public interest. The bill contains exceptions to these protections for cases in which the journalist has witnessed a crime or where the information is necessary to stop, prevent, or mitigate a specific death, kidnapping, or case of serious bodily harm. The bill also provides an exception for the government when it can show that national security interests are at stake. Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA), one of the bill's co-sponsors, praised the legislation, saying it "creates a fair standard to protect the public interest, journalists, the news media, bloggers, prosecutors and litigants." If the Senate approves the bill, it must be reconciled with a similar House bill before passing into law. The version of the bill passed Thursday represents a compromise reached in October among the Obama administration, lawmakers, and news organizations. In September, the Obama administration informed Congress that it objected to the proposed legislation based on national security concerns. The US House of Representatives passed the Free Flow of Information Act in late March, days after it was voted out of the House Judiciary Committee. The House passed a similar bill in 2007, but it was never voted on by the full Senate, despite passing the Judiciary Committee by a 15-2 vote. The bill was first proposed in response to the jail sentence given to Judith Miller, a journalist who would not reveal who provided her with the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Other journalists have also faced contempt charges for refusing to reveal sources. In November, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia vacated a contempt order against former USA Today reporter Toni Locy, who had refused to reveal government sources for a series of articles she wrote about the 2001 anthrax attacks.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on December 11, 2009 (boomark / email).