The U.S. Supreme Court ensured that a Fox News reporter will not have to testify about her sources in reporting on the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting in 2012. The Court refused to hear the case leaving a lower court decision in place. Authorities were attempting to gain access to the reporter’s notebook and won a ruling in a Colorado court, but since the subpoena had to be served in New York where Jana Winter, the reporter, lived, the reporter was able to prevail there. (The Denver Post, May 27, 2014, by John Ingold)
The New York appeals court ruled last December that Winter did not have to testify. “New York’s Shield Law provides an absolute privilege that prevents a journalist from being compelled to identify confidential sources who provided information for a news story,” wrote the judge for the majority. And the U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari. (The Wrap, December 10, 2013, by L.A. Ross)
Winter complained last summer that the Colorado court order for her notebook was causing her emotional distress and ruining her credibility with sources. (New York Daily News, July 3, 2014, by Deborah Hastings)