News

Supreme Court reaffirms: Trials must be open to the public

In a rarely used procedural maneuver, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to decide -- and then, decided right on the spot -- the issue of whether excluding the public from watching jury selection violates the accused's right to a fair trial.The Court's 7-2 answer: Yes, unless the judge shows that she has considered less drastic alternatives -- even if the accused fails to suggest any.The Court's ruling in Presley v.

PRESS RELEASE: SPLC, FIRE ask LACC Board of Trustees to investigate treatment of student newspaper

The Student Press Law Center ("SPLC"), the nation's only nonprofit legal-assistance organization serving student journalists, is asking the Board of Trustees of Los Angeles City College in California to look into a pattern of threats to the editorial freedom of the award-winning student newspaper, the Collegian.

The letter of concern cites several instances in which the Collegian and its staff faced intimidation or retaliation for the content of their journalistic work, including a proposed transfer under which authority for the newspaper would be shifted to a new department, in an apparent attempt to exert greater administrative control over the newspaper's editorial content.

The SPLC was joined in its January 15 letter by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Inc., a nonprofit advocacy group supporting freedom of speech on college campuses.

State Senator Leland Yee, D-San Francisco/San Mateo, California's leading champion of student First Amendment rights, has called for an inquiry into possible violations of student journalists' rights, but President Jamillah Moore has insisted that no violations occurred.

"LACC has damaged its own credibility with its stunning inability to find a First Amendment violation in a climate where such violations seem to happen as a matter of course.

Show your First Amendment passion — and win a cool $2k

The Radio Television Digital News Foundation (RTDNF) will award $2,500 in prize money to the students who create the most inspiring and exciting 30-second public service announcement (PSA) showing the importance of the First Amendment's five freedoms — speech, press, religion, assembly and the right to petition — and demonstrating how those freedoms protect us all.The contest is open to both high school and middle school students, with the first place high school winner taking home $2,000 and the first place middle school winner $500.

PRESS RELEASE: SPLC urges court to dismiss subpoena requesting Northwestern student journalists’ records

The Student Press Law Center filed a friend-of-the-court brief today on behalf of a coalition of journalism organizations supporting the right of student journalists at Northwestern University's Medill Innocence Project to safeguard their notes, interview tapes and other confidential newsgathering materials under the Illinois Reporter's Privilege Act.

The law firm of Baker & Hostetler LLP filed the brief Monday in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago in the case of The People of the State of Illinois v.