I’m going to devote a few posts over the next several weeks to some intriguing cases from 2010 that you might have missed. One such case is a fascinating decision from the Fourth Circuit, Ostergren v. Cuccinelli , 615 F.3d 263 (2010) , in which the...(read more)
Criminal Defendant Denied Access to Reality Show Footage
A trial court judge in Charlotte ruled Thursday that a defendant in a murder case is not entitled to unaired footage from the A&E series The First 48 . The case presented an interesting twist on shield law issues. Jonathan Fitzgerald has been...(read more)
Blue Language Given Thumbs Up in North Carolina
Sorry, this blog post is not about the Duke-UNC rivalry. Instead, it is about a First Amendment decision handed down by a trial judge last month that qualifies as being on the lighter, if not cleaner, side. The case involved North Carolina's...(read more)
N.C. Court of Appeals Upholds Courtroom Access in Family Law Dispute
The North Carolina Court of Appeals earlier this week made an important statement in favor of courtroom access, affirming a lower court ruling that had declined to close proceedings in a family law dispute. The decision, in the case of France v...(read more)
New Effort to Restrict Access to 911 Calls in North Carolina
As the 2011 session of North Carolina's General Assembly kicks off this week, we see the first (and likely not the last) salvo seeking to curtail access to public records in North Carolina. Representatives of the Durham Police Department have...(read more)
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Cert in Fair Report Case
Among the cases for which the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari Monday was the case of Salzano v. North Jersey Media Group . The Court's decision not to accept the case for review allows an important fair report decision issued earlier...(read more)
WikiLeaks Controversy Could Impact Newsgathering
The recent disclosure of reams of classified diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks has sparked outrage among leaders on both sides of the aisle in Washington, outrage that may negatively impact the gathering and dissemination of the news. There are already...(read more)
Media Outlets Sue for Records Relating to UNC Football Investigation
A number of media outlets instituted legal action yesterday against the University of North Carolina under North Carolina's Public Records Act , seeking several categories of records relating to the much-publicized investigation into UNC's football...(read more)