UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal
Abstract
Both the California Constitution and Evidence Code provide journalists with "shield" law protection that allows them to avoid contempt citations for failing to answer subpoenas. This protection allows them to ensure source confidentiality and is integral to the newsgathering process. However, it clashes with the federal constitutional guarantee that criminal defendants may subpoena information for their defense. This Note examines the controversy that arises when a criminal defendant seeks access via subpoena to the same information a reporter seeks to protect. The author proposes a revised approach to supplant currently inadequate standards for resolving such controversies.
Recommended Citation
Amy R. Bach,
Pressing California Shield Law on Criminal Defendants: A Weighting Game,
11 UC Law SF Comm. & Ent. L.J. 461
(1989).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol11/iss3/3
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Communications Law Commons, Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons, Intellectual Property Law Commons