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ASNE continues push for shield law

 
A couple of weeks ago, we alerted you to the fact that the Supreme Court would be determining whether to hear The New York Times reporter James Risen's appeal from a Federal Appellate Court decision that there is no First Amendment or common law privilege, which protects a reporter from having to testify in federal court proceedings (and, for good measure, even if there were, he would likely have to testify anyway.).
A couple of weeks ago, we alerted you to the fact that the Supreme Court would be determining whether to hear The New York Times reporter James Risen's appeal from a Federal Appellate Court decision that there is no First Amendment or common law privilege, which protects a reporter from having to testify in federal court proceedings (and, for good measure, even if there were, he would likely have to testify anyway.). We pinpointed this as a key moment in the fight for a federal shield law and hoped members would reach out to their senators and ask for a floor vote on the Free Flow of Information Act (S 987) in the event that the Supreme Court denied Risen's Petition for Certiorari.

 

The Supreme Court did deny Risen's petition, and we hope you are asking your senators to do what the Supreme Court (in Branzburg v. Hayes) and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in the Risen case) have invited Congress to do: Pass a federal shield law. We aren't simply relying on you, however, as ASNE joined more than 70 media organizations and companies on a letter asking the Senate to move S 987 to the Senate floor as soon as possible. Please take a look at the letter, review all the materials we have made available about the shield law in the past, and consider reaching out to your senator or directly to Senate leadership to get S 987 through the Senate. You can also contact ASNE Legal Counsel Kevin M. Goldberg at 703-812-0462 or goldberg@fhhlaw.com if you have any questions. 

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