By: Joe Strupp A state judge in Montana ruled that the state's shield law that protects reporters from disclosing anonymous sources also protects the identity of anonymous commenters on a newspaper Web site, according to the Billings Gazette.
District Court Judge G. Todd Baugh on Wednesday granted a motion by the Gazette to quash a subpoena that sought information on the identity of Web users who posted comments on the paper's site.
The ruling stems from the case of Russ Doty, a 2004 candidate for Public Service Commission, who issued the subpoena as part of his lawsuit against his opponent in the PCS race, Brad Molnar. The lawsuit accuses Molnar, who won the election against Doty, of libel and slander during the campaign, the Gazette reported.
During a hearing over the Gazette's motion on Wednesday, Judge Baugh stated that Montana's Media Confidentiality Act protected the newspaper from being forced to provide the information sought by Doty.
"Baugh also noted that the information Doty was seeking from the Gazette was related to comments made long after the 2004 campaign," the paper reported. "The judge asked Doty whether the anonymous comments ? have enough credibility to reach the legal requirements of libel and defamation."
"I can't imagine an anonymous comment has much credence whatsoever," Baugh said in the story.
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