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Time reporter testifies under subpoena in CIA leak case, but only after White House source waives confidentiality

(CFAC 8/25/04) -- Outcome suggests Justice Department is negotiating with subpoenaed reporters to avoid direct confrontation over protection for confidential sources in investigation to determine source of leak to columnist Robert Novak. (Read the story)

NY federal judge refuses to lift subpoena requiring Reuters reporter to testify in terrorism prosecution of civil rights attorney

(CFAC 8/25/04) -- Here, too, the government appears to have avoided trying to compel a reporter to testify regarding clearly confidential information, such as the identity of an anonymous source, or documents and information not published in the reporter’s story. The subpoenaed testimony is to be limited to authenticating incriminating, on-the-record statements by the defendant that were actually quoted in the news story. (Read the story)

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RESISTING GOVERNMENT SECRECY IN A TIME OF TERRORISM

keynote speaker
SEYMOUR HERSH

A CFAC Assembly
October 8 and 9

UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

Early registration available now!
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Peer-to-Peer Wins at 9th Circuit. Court says Grokster et al. don’t infringe due to technical differences from defunct Napster’s centralized file-sharing

(The Recorder 8/20/04) -- Grokster is good to go. A unanimous panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Thursday said the controversial software program and its competitors do not infringe film and music copyrights by facilitating file-sharing over the Internet. (Read the story)

Will the U.S. Supreme Court take up the Grokster decision?

(CFAC 8/25/04) -- Copyright legal specialist Larry Lessig predicts that yes, the high court will want to review the 9th Circuit’s handiwork. Among the reasons: .”The Court has a vague sense that some far-out stuff is going on in the field of “Computer Law” that maybe it should check out; law clerks use P2P technology to plan basketball games; Justices Stevens and Breyer deeply dig this stuff.” (Read Lessig’s analysis)

Judge restricts cameras in Kobe Bryant trial

(Associated Press 8/25/04) -- The judge in the Kobe Bryant rape case sharply limited how the media will cover the upcoming trial through TV and still cameras yesterday, saying he was worried too much exposure threatens the possibility of a fair hearing. (Read the story)

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HOT LINE Q & A

CFAC’s Legal Hotline service offers free legal information to CFAC members. Answers are provided by lawyers at the San Francisco office of Piper & Rudnick, a national law firm. Questions this week concern access to salaries of government employees, and legal protections for persons distributing voter registration and related materials.

Have a question? Go to CFAC’s web site (www.cfac.org) and click on Hotline.

Access to government employees’ salaries

Q. I am a reporter for a daily newspaper in southern California. I’m generally aware of the currently pending cases in Oakland and elsewhere over access to the salaries of government employees. My paper is about to request similar information -- names and compensation of all employees making over $100,000 -- and we’d like to know what our legal standing is going into this. What are the relevant court decisions, and how much room do they leave to argue for access to pay records? (Read the answer)

Right to circulate petitions in front of private businesses

Q. I am currently working as a “circulator” -- I circulate petitions for the November ballot, and also hand out voter registration materials. My colleagues and I are being harassed by businesses that don’t like us working in the vicinity of their offices. We are being told we have to leave, that the companies’ policies don’t allow us to be there, etc. What exactly should we do? (Read the answer)
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CFAC in the NEWS

Prop 59 would open up government records

San Jose refuses to release employees salaries

Glendale mayor accused of Brown Act violation for postponing public comment to end of city council meeting
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State worker sues California department over cubicle censorship

(Associated Press 8/25/04) -- A state government worker who alleges he was forced to remove Bible verses, a bumper sticker reading "Marriage: One Man, One Woman" and other religious or political items from the entrance of his
office cubicle sued the California Department of Social Services Monday, claiming the action violated his First Amendment rights. (Read the story)

When is it ethical for a reporter to give money to a candidate in a political campaign that the reporter is also covering? Answer: When in California.

(CFAC 8/25/04) -- In a previous Flash we highlighted news about several Bay Area reporters and editors who had contributed money to political campaigns--contrary to ethical principles of journalistic neutrality taught in every journalism school and subscribed to by nearly all top news organizations in the country.

It turns out that, at least in California, those editors and reporters may have the law on their side. An obscure provision of the state’s labor code appears to prohibit newspapers from enforcing conflict-of-interest policies that limit the after-work political activities of employees, including editorial staff. (Read the story)

Dances by Martha Graham held 'work for hire' in copyright case. Ruling means rights belong to dance company, not Graham family

(New York Law Journal 8/23/04) -- The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that many of the works of famed modern dance artist and choreographer Martha Graham were created as "works for hire" while the late Graham was an employee of the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance. (Read the story)

This song's not your song, this song's everybody’s song

(San Jose Mercury-News 8/25/04) -- If you're going to threaten to sue someone for copyright infringement, you'd best be certain that the copyright you're protecting is still valid. If it's not, you may find yourself in a position similar to that of Ludlow Music, which threatened to sue the animators behind a wildly popular piece of political satire based on Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," only to learn that their copyright on the song expired more than 30 years ago. (Read the story)

If you have suggestions for items to be included in CFAC's weekly Flash, please email them to Peter Scheer