Gag Orders

Hiya Law,

Our focus today is Gag Orders and the closure of courtrooms, both of which constitute prior restraint. The short outline attached summarizes case law as it applies to these topics. And the last assigned reading (Cave) explores if gag orders “protect rights or curtail them.”

In current events, the World Press Freedom Index this week ranked the United States 45^th out of 180 countries. The pandemic threatens freedom of the press worldwide, and U.S. press freedom, the report says, continues to suffer under President Trump:

A “dangerous anti-press sentiment” as well as the arrest, physical assault, public denigration and harassment of journalists has trickled down to the local level, the report said.

The countries ranked first through fourth are Norway, Finland, Denmark and Sweden. China is 177^th, and coming in last at #180 is North Korea.

Please continue to prepare for Tuesday’s test, which will be similar to the other tests you’ve taken. It’s important to review 1) the Privacy and Covering the Courts outlines, 2) the You Be the Judge in-class exercises, 3) class emails and 4) readings.

I’ll email you the test at 1 Tuesday, after which the email will be posted on the WordPress page: https://journalismandlaw.wordpress.com

Return only your numbered answers to me by email in a Word doc. Do not return the test itself. Your responses should be short and to the point. Double-space between your answers and use at least 12-point type.

Deadline is 1 p.m. Wednesday unless you make other arrangements with me. I’ll then return scores and an answer key to you.

I miss seeing you! I hope you’re keeping well!

All best,

k

Check This!

Hiya Law!

Supreme Court justices are writing to each other about current cases, courts are closed and President Trump has sued no one—although he’s threatening suits against a Democratic Political Action Committee running ads critical of his handling of the pandemic. Check the ad, which consists entirely of quotes from the President:

Via Mediaite’s Ken Meyer: “President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign isthreatening to file lawsuits against local news outlets in several battleground states if they continue to air a political ad showing his attempts to downplay the coronavirus.”

I’ll get back to you soon with test scores and an answer key for Test #2. And Tuesday, we start Privacy.

Looking forward to it! Stay well!

All best,

k

Test #2

Hiya Law!

Attached is Test #2 on Libel, Access and Copyright. Please return your numbered responses (1-28) to me by 1 p.m. Friday. Do not return the test itself.

In my email yesterday, I outlined how we’ll move through the rest of the semester. (Remember: all emails are posted on the WordPress page.) I’ll email you at 1 p.m. T/Th with Privacy outlines, some video, some in-class work, etc.

I’m looking forward to our last few weeks together and hope you are too!

REVISED LAW CALENDAR

Hiya Law,

Because we’ll finish our discussion of Libel on Tuesday, here’s a revised calendar for the next few weeks of class:

March 10: Finish Libel; Access

March 12: Finish Access; Copyright

SPRING BREAK

March 24: Review for Test #2

March 26: Test #2

March 31: Privacy

See you Tuesday!

Best,

k

Trump Sues Times for Libel

Good Morning, Law!

As we start talking about Libel today, the Times reports that the Trump Re-Election Campaign sued the paper for libel Wednesday over an op-ed column asserting a quid pro quo between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign.  Check the story here.

By next week, you’ll be able to take this suit apart, understand the issues and predict the outcome.

See you soon!

Best,

k

Next Week in Law

Hiya Law,

On Tuesday, we’ll finish talking about the Supreme Court by discussing the six assigned articles in some detail.

By Thursday, please listen to Episode 13 of the podcast “In the Dark,” which explores the case of Curtis Flowers, who’s been tried six times for murdering four people in Winona, Mississippi, in 1997. Until recently, he’d been on death row  for 23 years.

Near the end of the semester, we’ll look at how media coverage can affect trials, including jury selection, and how the court attempts to minimize any adverse effects. One way is through peremptory challenges, which allow attorneys to remove prospective jurors from the pool for no stated reason. In this case, Doug Evans, the white prosecutor, has attempted to convict Flowers, who is black, by removing all black jurors from the pool, a practice that was deemed unconstitutional in 1986. Three of Flowers’ convictions have been overturned by the Mississippi Supreme Court because of prosecutorial misconduct and two were hung juries.

The Supreme Court last spring heard the case, Flowers v. Mississippi. This episode of the podcast takes you inside the Court as the case is heard. The Court’s eventual decision determined that Evans was once again guilty of misconduct, and Flowers has been released on bail pending the state’s decision if it will try him for a seventh time.

For Thursday, your assignment is to bring to class a one-page, typed list of four aspects of this podcast that got your attention and why. A few lines on each observation is sufficient. Keep your thoughts focused on the justices and the process. We’ll talk about the Flowers’ oral arguments, and also start our discussion of Sedition.

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

Best,

k

Chief Justice “Admonishes” Senate

Hiya Law,

Please watch this short CNN video of Chief Justice John Roberts “admonishing” the Senate early today and encouraging participants in the impeachment of President Trump to engage in “civil discourse.” Roberts opened the impeachment trial yesterday, instructing Senators to focus on “impartial justice.”

We’ll talk about Roberts and the other Supremes Thursday as we discuss the U.S. court system. Looking forward to it!

Best,

k

Tsarnaev’s Appeal of Boston Bombing Conviction

Good Morning Law,

Check this from today’s Globe: After four years, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s appeal of his conviction in the Boston Marathon bombing trial will start Thursday—“and the odds may be tilting his way.” The Globe says:

The focus will now be on the conduct of prosecutors, defense attorneys, the presiding judge — even the jury — with one central question at issue: Did Tsarnaev get a fair trial? … Lawyers are set to joust for two hours over legal questions such as whether the trial should have been held in Boston, and whether jurors failed to reveal their anti-Tsarnaev biases to the judge.

This is exactly what we’ve been talking about in class so read this for a real time review. And note that the story is illustrated with a sketch, not a photo, because federal courts do not allow cameras, unlike their state counterparts.

See you Tuesday!

Best,

k

 

Course Evaluations

Hiya Law,

We’ll set aside time for course evaluations tomorrow in class–after we finish discussing material and before you work on the test review.

You can access the form on your laptop or phone at this link:
http://owl.umass.edu/partners/courseEvalSurvey/uma/

See you tomorrow!

Best,

k

Trump’s Judicial Appointees and More!

Good Morning, Law!

President Trump yesterday celebrated with Mitch McConnell and others having appointed about 25% of all federal appeals court judges, as well as two Supreme Court justices. His appointees are on average 10 years younger than Obama appointees and far more conservative. Check today’s Times story.

At the same time, Trump himself, who had been a defendant or plaintiff in more than 4,000 court cases by the time he came into the White House, is currently being sued in multiple courts on multiple charges, including the libel suit we discussed yesterday brought by journalist E. Jean Carroll.  “I’m like a Ph.D. in litigation,” he’s said.

And finally, here is the obit of Ray Jenkins, an Alabama editor who in 1960 wrote a short story for the (Montgomery) Alabama Journal about a full-page ad criticizing Montgomery officials that had appeared that day in the New York Times. L.B. Sullivan saw Jenkins’ story in the local paper and sued the Times for libel. The rest is history.

See you this afternoon to continue our discussion of Privacy.

Best

k