Though the Supreme Court concluded that the First Amendment does not provide a journalists¿ privilege in grand jury proceedings, 49 states have adopted a journalists¿ privilege in various types of proceedings. Journalists have no privilege in fed. proceedings. This report discusses how Congress has considered creating a journalists¿ privilege for fed. proceedings, and bills to adopt a journalists¿ privilege were introduced in the 110th and 111th Congresses in both the House and Senate. These bills generally would provide for a more narrow privilege than the privileges provided by state laws. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find report.

Absent a statutory or constitutional recognition of journalistic privilege, a reporter may be compelled to testify in legal, administrative, or other governmental proceedings. To date, thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have recognised a journalists' privilege through enactment of press 'shield laws', which protect the relationship between reporters, their source, and sometimes, the information that may be communicated in that relationship. The journalists' privilege is distinct from other recognised privileges, in that the privilege vests only with the journalist, not with the source of the information. This book provides an overview of general trends among the states individual statutes. It also presents the full text of the state shield statutes and the First Amendment.

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.