Center Argues First Amendment Protects New York Times Reporter
"The right of a free press is at the core of our democracy," said Reid
Alan Cox....
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C e n t e r F o r I n d i v i d u a l F r e e d o m
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
October 26,
2004
Reid Alan Cox
/ Marshall Manson
703.535.5836
CFIF Files Amicus Brief in Reporters Contempt Cases
First Amendment Protects Against Forced Disclosure of Confidential
Sources, Center Argues
Alexandria, VA The Center for Individual Freedom
has filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the D.C. Circuit, arguing that the First Amendment prevents
a federal prosecutor from forcing New York Times reporter
Judith Miller and Time Magazine reporter Matthew Cooper to
reveal the identities of confidential sources.
"The constitutional
protections for free speech and free press, in one way or another,
limit the authority of special counsel, prosecutors, criminal defendants,
and civil litigants to compel newsgatherers and publishers to disclose
confidential sources," the Center wrote in its brief.
The D.C. Circuit
is hearing three cases on appeal from a lower federal court which
held Miller, Cooper, and Time, Inc. in contempt of court for refusing
to reveal their sources of information about former CIA employee
Valerie Plame. The lower court held that reporters were not entitled
to any privilege in criminal matters.
"The right
of a free press is at the core of our democracy," said Reid
Alan Cox, the Centers Assistant General Counsel and author
of the brief. "And the media cannot report freely unless their
sources are able to speak in complete candor, without fear of exposure
or reprisal."
The Center has
long been a strong defender of the First Amendment. Previously,
it filed a similar brief in the case of Vanessa Leggett, an investigative
journalist who was jailed for contempt of court for refusing to
reveal her confidential sources. The Center was also a plaintiff
in McConnell v. FEC.
The Center is
a non-partisan, non-profit constitutional advocacy organization
dedicated to defending individual freedoms and rights and protecting
the free market.
[Posted
October 29, 2004]
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