Media Law Lunch
A very unofficial site for information on the monthly media law lunches of the Media Law Committee, Arts, Entertainment, Media & Sports Law Section, D.C. Bar.
Please e-mail or call to claim or propose topics for future meetings. Contact: Gregg Leslie, gleslie@rcfp.org, (703) 807-2100.
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Next meeting: Jan. 8, 2008 Location: HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP, 2099 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. (21st & Penn.), Suite 100 Topics: Chief Judge Rufus King, D.C. Superior Court — Court access issues in D.C. courts Judge King will discuss current practices on sealing cases and hearings in Superior Court, following a Court of Appeals decision overturning a criminal conviction because the courtroom had been improperly closed. Judge King will also discuss issues that have arisen as the court moves to electronic access, and how it will balance access rights with privacy concerns. Robert Becker (Law offices of Robert S. Becker); James McLaughlin (Washington Post Co.) — D.C. Freedom of Information proposed changes The city council is considering two measures related to open records: One proposal would further restrict access to “critical infrastructure” information; another would clarify that email is subject to the open records law, after the mayor announced but later retracted a policy allowing all email to be destroyed after six months. David Shapiro (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP) — In re Grand Jury Subpoena to Amazon.com Dated August 7, 2006, No. 07-GJ-04 (W.D. Wis.) A federal magistrate judge held that a grand jury subpoena to Amazon that would identify customers who purchased particular expressive works (books, music, DVDs) must meet a heightened standard because of its impact on the First Amendment right to anonymous speech. Amber Husbands (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP) — ConnectU, Inc. v. Facebook, Inc., No. 1:07-CV-10593-DPW (D. Mass.) Motion by Facebook founder for TRO ordering take-down from 02138 magazine's web site of sealed documents, obtained lawfully from court clerk, is denied. |
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December 12, 2007 Walter Pincus, reporter, The Washington Post — Opposing a federal shield law Not all journalists support passage of a federal shield law, including this Post reporter who was subpoenaed in the Valerie Plame and Wen Ho Lee cases and believes that journalists shouldn't ask Congress for special treatment. Michael D. Steger, Law Offices of Michael D. Steger (N.Y.) — Berman v. Johnson, No. 1:07cv39 (E.D. Va. 2007). Court rules that producer of documentary film "Your Mommy Kills Animals" whom the director later shut out of editing and distribution of the movie was a joint author entitled to joint copyright interest in the work. Charles R. Naftalin, Holland & Knight — Media cross-ownership FCC restrictions on media ownership remain substantially unsettled. Recently, the FCC stepped back into the fray with proposed revisions to the media cross-ownership rules, intending to vote on Dec. 18 on a proposal to allow companies to own a daily newspaper and broadcast station in the top 20 media markets city. |
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November 14, 2007 Federal shield bill update (S. 2035; H.R. 2102) A federal reporter's shield bill has passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a substantial margin, and a similar measure has been sent to the Senate floor by the Senate Judiciary Committee -- both of which are historic firsts. The differences between the two and what they would mean for journalists and their attorneys will be the subject of discussion. (Speaker to be announced.) Current versions of bills: American Historical Assoc. v. National Archives and Records Admin., No. 01-2447 (CKK), 2007 WL 2822027 (Oct. 1, 2007) Court invalidates portion of Executive Order allowing former presidents to control the release of presidential records. (Speaker to be announced.) Opinion: www.medialawlunch.com/documents/2007-11-AHAvNARA.pdf Alice Neff Lucan -- McIntosh v. U.S. , No. 00-CM-841, 2007 WL 2859797 (D.C., Oct. 4, 2007) D.C. Court of Appeals rules that trial judge improperly closed courtroom to the public without first making the appropriate findings, and reverses criminal conviction. Opinion: www.medialawlunch.com/documents/2007-11-McIntosh.pdf |
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Oct. 10, 2007, meeting Constance Pendleton (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP) -- Humane Society of the United States v. Amazon.com, Inc., 1:07-cv-00623-CKK (motion to dismiss filed July 18, 2007) Amazon.com seeks to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Humane Society against the company and two magazine publishers over distribution of magazines that cover cockfighting. View the Motion to dismiss Nathan Siegel (Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz LLP) -- New York v. Forde, No. 5544/00 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. N.Y. Co., September 12, 2007) A trial judge rejects a constitutional challenge to New York Shield Law by a criminal defendant and holds that information that might "possibly reveal" information about a witness is not "critical and necessary" to the defendant's case. View the Order Chuck Tobin (Holland & Knight) -- Jankovic v. International Crisis Group, 494 F.3d 1080 (D.C. Cir. July 24, 2007) The D.C. Circuit reinstates defamation, false light and tortious interference claims brought by a Serbian businessman over statements connecting him to former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. View the Opinion |
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Sept. 12 meeting Bob Corn-Revere (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP) -- CBS Corp. v. FCC, No. 06-3575 (3d Cir.) The Third Circuit is scheduled to hear arguments Sept. 11 over the CBS fine in the Janet Jackson breast-baring controversy. Documents: CBS brief; Opinion in Fox v. FCC Kristin Adair (The National Security Archive) -- Berman v. CIA, No. 05-16820, 2007 WL 2472858, (9th Cir. Sept. 4, 2007) The Ninth Circuit holds that the disclosure of two Presidential Daily Briefs from the Lyndon Johnson era could "reveal protected intelligence sources and methods," but rejects the CIA’s request for an automatic exemption for all PDBs. Documents: Opinion Laurie Babinski (Baker & Hostetler LLP) -- Asociacion de Periodistas de Puerto Rico v. Mueller, No. 06-1931 (D. P.R.). A federal district court in Puerto Rico dismisses a civil rights suit, finding that FBI agents "did not act unreasonably in using pepper spray against [journalists] or in kicking, punching, or hitting them with batons." Documents: Link to opinion & briefs |