Tag: Spring 2005

Georgia Senate Bill 153, inspired by a lawsuit involving Mercer University (See xxx, Page xxx), failed to pass the House Rules Committee in March to become law.

MINNESOTA ? A March ruling in a state appeals court reaffirmed the principle that public colleges and universities are not liable for the content of student newspapers as long as school officials are not censoring the newspapers.

Richard Lewis, a former dean and current professor at St.

Battles for access to campus crime records in Georgia are being waged on two fronts. Proposed Senate Bill 153 would redefine the Georgia Open Records Act to include police records at private schools, while a case involving Mercer University may progress to the Georgia Supreme Court and set a legal precedent for crime records disclosure.

The state Open Records Act defines materials subject to disclosure as "all documents prepared and maintained in the course of operation of a public office or agency" or documents received "on behalf of a public office or agency." A state trial court ruled that private Mercer University had to turn over the records of its campus police department--which operates with official law enforcement authority--under the Open Records Act.

Newspaper theft culprits found out the hard way this year that their attempts to cover up information about a crime by committing another crime can draw more attention to it and some college administrators and law enforcement officials are taking such crimes more seriously.

CALIFORNIA -- An 18-year-old college freshman was arrested in February for taking photographs of an alleged car burglary in progress--an incident that stirred up questions nationwide about journalistic ethics and responsibility.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Student journalists may have the law on their side when promising sources anonymity if a recently introduced federal bill, The Free Flow of Information Act of 2005, passes in the House and Senate.

The bill, also known as the Media Shield Law, was introduced by Congressmen Rick Boucher (D.-Va.) and Mike Pence (R.-Ind.) under H.R.

The Student Press Law Center has launched a grass roots campaign to reach student journalists, educators, professional journalists, news executives and others interested in promoting and protecting First Amendment freedoms for students across the nation.

On Valentine's Day, University of Michigan basketball player Daniel Horton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge for allegedly choking his girlfriend in December 2004.

When the Michigan Daily student newspaper reported his plea, subsequent sentencing and suspension from the team, athletic department officials contacted the newspaper with a message that surprised Editor in Chief Jason Presick.

"They were very complimentary of our coverage because the Detroit Free Press had published the girlfriend's name and we didn't," he said.

In separate victories for students? free expression on personal Web sites, judges ruled in two recent cases that school officials acted in violation of students? First Amendment rights when they punished the students for off-campus Web sites they created that were critical of their schools.