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Journalist Subpoena Defense

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The Clinic represents the Sullivan County Democrat and its former managing editor, Joseph Abraham, in opposing a subpoena aimed at Mr. Abraham.

The subpoena was issued in the case Anthony v. Haas et al., a defamation lawsuit in which neither Mr. Abraham nor the newspaper are parties. The suit relates to an investigation the Town of Highland conducted into Marc Anthony, the Town Constabulary. The newspaper published an article about the investigation that referenced an unnamed source. Mr. Anthony later sued a town board member, alleging defamation related to the investigation, and he attempted to subpoena Mr. Abraham for documents and testimony about the identity of the newspaper’s source.

The Clinic successfully quashed the subpoena on procedural grounds. The plaintiff later re-issued the subpoena, and the Clinic sought to quash it, a second time, under the New York Shield Law. The law provides journalists absolute protection against being forced to disclose information from confidential sources. And the Shield Law provides a qualified privilege for any other unpublished information, setting out a stringent test that a litigant must meet before compelling a journalist to provide such information — including information about a source that the journalist chose not to name publicly, even if the source was not expressly promised confidentiality.

The Sullivan County Supreme Court denied this second motion to quash, stating that the plaintiff had overcome the Shield Law’s test for overcoming the qualified privilege. The Clinic is now appealing that decision to the Appellate Division, Third Department.


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