SB 558, as amended, Lieu. Reporters’ shield law.
The reporter’s shield law contained in the California Constitution prohibits a publisher, editor, reporter, or other person connected with or employed by a newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication, or by a press association or wire service, from being held in contempt for refusing to disclose the source of any information procured for publication while so connected or employed. The law also prohibits any of those persons from being held in contempt for refusing to disclose any unpublished information obtained or prepared in gathering, receiving, or processing information for communication to the public.
Existing statutory law prohibits any testimony or other evidence given by a journalist under subpoena in a civil or criminal proceeding from being construed as a waiver of the immunity rights provided by the reporter’s shield law. Existing law requires that, except in exigent circumstances, a journalist who is subpoenaed in any civil or criminal proceeding be given at least 5 days’ notice by the party issuing the subpoena that his or her appearance will be required, and requires a court that holds a journalist in contempt in a criminal proceeding to set forth specified findings regarding the information sought.
This bill, in addition, would require that, except in exigent circumstances, a bodybegin insert or partyend insert issuing a subpoena in any civil or criminal proceeding to a third party that seeks the records of a journalist to provide notice of the subpoena to the journalist and the publisher of the newspaper, magazine, or other publication or station operations manager of the broadcast station that employs or contracts with the journalist, as applicable, at least 5 days prior to issuing the subpoena. The bill would require the bodybegin insert or partyend insert issuing the subpoena to include in the notice, at a minimum, an explanation of why the requested records will be of material assistance to the party seeking them and why alternate sources of information are not sufficient to avoid the need for the subpoena.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 1986.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure
2 is amended to read:
(a) No testimony or other evidence given by a
4journalist under subpoena in a civil or criminal proceeding may
5be construed as a waiver of the immunity rights provided by
6subdivision (b) of Section 2 of Article I of the California
7Constitution.
8(b) (1) Because important constitutional rights of a third-party
9witness are adjudicated when rights under subdivision (b) of
10Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution are asserted,
11except in exigent circumstances, a journalist who is subpoenaed
12in any civil or criminal proceeding shall be given at least five days’
13notice by the party issuing the subpoena that his or her appearance
14will
be required.
15(2) To protect against the inadvertent disclosure by a third party
16of information protected by Section 2 of Article I of the California
17Constitution, a bodybegin insert or partyend insert issuing a subpoena in any civil or
18criminal proceeding to a third party that seeks the records of a
19journalist shall, except in exigent circumstances, provide notice
20of the subpoena to the journalist and the publisher of the
21newspaper, magazine, or other publication or station operations
P3 1manager of the broadcast station that employs or contracts with
2the journalist, as applicable, at least five days prior to issuing the
3subpoena. The bodybegin insert or partyend insert issuing the subpoena shall
include
4in the notice, at a minimum, an explanation of why the requested
5records will be of material assistance to the party seeking them
6and why alternate sources of information are not sufficient to avoid
7the need for the subpoena.
8(c) If a trial court holds a journalist in contempt of court in a
9criminal proceeding notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 2
10of Article I of the California Constitution, the court shall set forth
11findings, either in writing or on the record, stating at a minimum,
12why the information will be of material assistance to the party
13seeking the evidence, and why alternate sources of the information
14are not sufficient to satisfy the defendant’s right to a fair trial under
15the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section
1615 of Article I of the California Constitution.
17(d) As used in this section, “journalist” means the persons
18specified in subdivision (b) of Section 2 of Article I of the
19California Constitution.
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