states have given reporters some ability to protect their sources through shield law.
states have given reporters some ability to protect their sources through shield law.
states have given reporters some ability to protect their sources through?
shield law
in july 2013 the white house was pushing for a federal media shield law named the free flow of information act authored by u.s. senators charles schumer and lindsey graham. under the bill, the scope of protection for reporters would vary according to whether it was a civil case, an ordinary criminal case or a national security case. the greatest protection would be given to civil cases, in which litigants seeking to force reporters to testify or trying to obtain their calling information would be required to show why their need for the information outweighed the public's interest in unfettered news gathering. ordinary criminal cases would work in a similar fashion, except the burden would be on the reporter seeking to quash the subpoena to show by a "clear and convincing" standard that the public interest in the free flow of information should prevail over the needs of law enforcement. cases involving the disclosure of classified information would be more heavily tilted toward the government. judges could not quash a subpoena through a balancing test if prosecutors presented facts showing that the information sought might help prevent a terrorist attack or other acts likely to harm national security. the legislation would create a presumption that when the government is seeking calling records from a telephone carrier, the news organization would be notified ahead of time, allowing it to fight the subpoena in court. but the bill would also allow the government to seek a 45- to 90-day delay in notification if a court determines that such notice would threaten the integrity of the investigation. the legislation would also include an exception where journalists could be subpoenaed if it means national security is at risk. "now, it's important to remember: virtually the only time the government subpoenas reporters, it involves leak investigations into stories by national security reporters. so it's hard to see how this bill will significantly help improve press freedom," wrote trevor timm, an activist with the electronic frontier foundation and a board member of the freedom of the press foundation. "worse, there's a strong argument that passing the bill [...] will weaken rights reporters already have and make it easier for the government to get sources from reporters."
shield laws in the united states
within the ovary, each ovule is born by a placenta or arises as a continuation of the floral apex. the placentas often occur in distinct lines called lines of placentation. in monocarpous or apocarpous gynoecia, there is typically a single line of placentation in each ovary. in syncarpous gynoecia, the lines of placentation can be regularly spaced along the wall of the ovary (parietal placentation), or near the center of the ovary. in the latter case, separate terms are used depending on whether or not the ovary is divided into separate locules. if the ovary is divided, with the ovules born on a line of placentation at the inner angle of each locule, this is axile placentation. an ovary with free central placentation, on the other hand, consists of a single compartment without septae and the ovules are attached to a central column that arises directly from the floral apex (axis). in some cases a single ovule is attached to the bottom or top of the locule (basal or apical placentation, respectively).
gynoecium