St. Paul police subpoena reporter's cell phone records

[Newsjock]

http://www.startribune.com/local/12393851.html

St. Paul police subpoenaed the cell phone records of a KMSP-TV reporter and the phone records of a Ramsey County sheriff's department employee after the reporter obtained an arrest report that should have been public data, the station reported Tuesday night.

... KMSP said its lawyers believe the subpoena violates the First Amendment and may violate state law. It said it has asked for an apology and for Lyden's records back.

"In obtaining my phone records they basically opened up my reporter's notebook," Lyden said. "They basically looked at my notes. They have looked at sources. They have looked at people I have tried to protect."

University of Minnesota media law and ethics processor Jane Kirtley said state law makes it very hard for police to force reporters to turn over their notes and sources.

"In this case you've got a journalists shield law in this state that provides great protection to the press, and yet effectively what the government has done is done an end run around the shield law by going to the telephone company rather than the journalist," Kirtley said. "Had they gone to the journalist the news organization could have contested the subpoena in court and had a full hearing. This was done in a very sneaky and in my opinion very inappropriate way."

[Richard Steele]

1. Grrrecommended

[Nikki Stone1]

2. Anybody want to say "If you aren't doing anything wrong...

...you shouldn't be afraid of the government being able to get your phone records from private companies."

[stillcool]

5. He must be a terrorist..

or at least an insurgent...under the new definition.

[Nikki Stone1]

6. Or an environmentalist

Or maybe he uses birth control.

[stillcool]

8. oh see now you're getting into

Conspiracy theories. Make no mistake these people are out to destroy our country. God, but I have the lingo down!

[Nikki Stone1]

9. Hey, tinfoil is the new black

:evilgrin:

[BOSSHOG]

3. So the sherrif's employee

was holding public info back from the public (and other reporters) except for his buddy at the TV Station?? The subpoena is nonsense but I would advise reporters and "employees" not to make such deals. I worked in journalism for years and the deal (if that is what occurred) sound very inappropriate.

[ThomCat]

4. Some cops should get fired for this shit.

I'm very sick of cops thinking they can do whatever they want and get away with it. x(

[KitchenWitch]

7. Regardless of my personal feelings about this reporter, the police were WRONG!

Nothing like an end run against having to face Lyden in court.








































BTW Tom Lyden, IMHO, is a gigantic tool.