Faced with a subpoena for unpublished images of police protesters, the Seattle Times and several television stations are appealing an order for the release of the images to the Washington state Supreme Court. The news outlets contend that the state’s shield law blocks law enforcement from meddling in the news business. The outlets are asking the Supreme Court to stay the subpoena until an appeal could be heard. (The Seattle Times, August 11, 2020, by Mike Reicher)
A superior court judge has given the outlets until August 21 to deliver the footage to law enforcement. The Seattle Police Department claims the request for the footage is limited to an investigation of particular crimes involving the torching of police vehicles. The news outlets contend that involving the news media in investigating crimes blurs the line between them and law enforcement and jeopardizes their ability to report the news (MYNorthwest, August 12, 2020, by Nick Bowman)
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