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Shield Laws and Protection Of sources

Alabama

 

Alaska

 

Arizona

 

Arkansas

 

California

 

Colorado

 

Connecticut

 

Delaware

 

Florida

 

Georgia

 

Hawaii

 

Idaho

 

Illinois

 

Indiana

 

Iowa

 

Kansas

 

Kentucky

 

Louisiana

 

Maine

 

Maryland

 

Massachusetts

 

Michigan

 

Minnesota

 

Mississippi

 

Missouri

 

Montana

 

Nebraska

 

Nevada

 

New

Hampshire

 

New Jersey

 

New Mexico

 

New York

 

North Carolina

 

North Dakota

 

Ohio

 

Oklahoma

 

Oregon

 

Pennsylvania

 

Rhode Island

 

South Carolina

 

South Dakota

 

Tennessee

 

Texas

 

Utah

 

Vermont

 

Virginia

 

Washington

 

West Virginia

 

Wisconsin

 

Wyoming

Shield Laws?

Qualified or Absolute Privileges?

State

Shield Laws in Your State!

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Absolute

 

Qualified

 

Absolute

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Qualified

 

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N/A

Shield laws protect journalists from being legally obligated to reveal their sources. Source anonymity is a vital part of journalism.

Click here for each state's specific shield laws!

-Currently, the only state law that explicitly includes student reporters is West Virginia. However most courts recognize student reporters with their professional counterparts.

​

-Privacy Protection Act (1980) --> The PPA created financial consequences for government officials who search and/or seize a journalist’s work, as well as prevent such intrusions before they occur.

Student Press Law Center's Student Media Guide to the Privacy Protection Act

​

From the PPA:

“For searches/seizures conducted by state or local government officials, such as public university or high school administrators, a claim can be brought against the official’s supervising agency or department.”

 

-The PPA does not specifically include student media, however, it does state “that only those individuals engaged in the dissemination of information to the public who are “in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce” are protected.

​

The PPA provides protection at both the federal and state level however, there are states that have similar or greater protections. 

 

States with these protections include:

  • California

  • Connecticut

  • Illinois

  • Nebraska

  • New Jersey

  • Oregon

  • Texas

  • Washington

  • Ask to see the warrant/Stall the search

  • Refer to the law (The SPLC recommends keeping a copy of the PPA in your newsroom)

  • Ask for help from the SPLC/other legal help

  • Document and legally challenge the search

What should you do if the police/government officials try to search your student newsroom?

Cellphone Seizure:

 

Riley v California (2014) clarified that the Fourth Amendment prohibits police from deep diving into cell phones without a warrant due to the great intrusion of privacy that it includes. If you are keeping news gathering information on your phone and the police demand it, be sure to mention the PPA and your rights to cell phone privacy. However, if you are keeping confidential news gathering information on a cell phone and phones are not allowed on campus, it does not give you the right to not have your phone seized by school officials.

Public vs. Private Institutions

In public schools, there is a first amendment privilege with few limitations

 

Limitations include:

  • highly relevant information

  • Information that is necessary for the maintenance of the claim

  • Information is not obtainable from other sources

 

In private schools, there is no first amendment privilege, however, they may rely on other legal protections as well as an argument on censorship and public pressure in order to deter private school officials.

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