MIXED RESULTS IN CALIFORNIA SHIELD CASE

By: Joel Davis State Supreme Lets Appeal Court Ruling Stand



by Joel Davis



The California Supreme Court has let stand a May decision by an
appeals court that overturned a contempt-of-court finding and
$1,000-a-day fine against former Marin Independent Journal reporter
Dan Fost, who refused to answer a prosecutor's questions in a murder
case.



By declining to review the appellate court decision, the state's
high court let stand the lower court's finding that a reporter might
be required to answer prosecution questions in a future case. This
may weaken the state's shield law, experts say.







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Joel Davis (jdavis@editorandpublisher.com) is West Coast editor for E&P.









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