Journalist privilege debate

Current topic at Legal Affairs Debate Club:
Time magazine journalist Matthew Cooper and New York Times reporter Judith Miller go to trial in Washington, D.C. for refusing to reveal confidential sources. They are the first of several journalists who could face lengthy prison sentences because of charges related to the July 2003 revelation that Valerie Plame was a covert operative of the CIA. Similar cases abound. Last month a Rhode Island reporter was found guilty of contempt for refusing to reveal a source and the invasion-of-privacy case of Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee may bring other journalists to trial. While 31 states and the District of Columbia have shield laws designed to protect journalists from being forced to reveal their sources, no such federal law exists. Do journalists need more protection from prosecution?

Media law in general is the topic of Attorney Robert Ambrogi's blog Media Law: a blog about freedom of the press