Audrey Elizabeth Hale

The First Amendment Implications Of This Episode Are Obvious And Grave: A Local Publisher Is Threatened With Potential Criminal Charges For Merely Reporting On Legally Obtained Documents. Leahy’s Treatment Also Raises Concern Over The Increasing Hostility That Judiciaries Express Toward The Journalistic Practice Of Maintaining Source-Confidentiality. This Represents A Remarkable Departure In Recent Years From The Formerly Iron-Clad Protections Afforded To Journalists Working With Confidential Documents. Whether On The State Or Federal Level, These Efforts To Curtail A Free Press In Court Must Be Repudiated. One Would Hope That The National Press Would Unify Against This Gathering Threat To Its Collective Freedom.