Prof. David Protess’ Medill Innocence Project gained high-profile support in its legal battle with Cook County prosecutors Monday.
A group of 18 media organizations, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press, the Student Press Law Center and defense lawyers submitted amicus briefs to Judge Diane Cannon in an effort to fight a state subpoena requiring Northwestern journalism students to turn over documents related to an alleged murder case.
In the Innocence Project, students investigate potentially wrongful convictions. In 2003, Protess and his students began researching the case of Anthony McKinney, a man convicted of a 1978 murder. In 2006, the students shared evidence with lawyers and law students at the Center on Wrongful Convictions at the School of Law’s Bluhm Legal Clinic, indicating McKinney had been wrongfully convicted. Prosecutors subpoenaed their records in October, demanding access to information including course syllabi, student grades, expense reimbursements and e-mail communications.
Cannon, who is hearing the case, accepted the three briefs and set Feb. 10 as the next status call in the case, according to information provided by Protess.
As outlined in the briefs, the students who participated in the investigation are protected by the Illinois Reporter’s Privilege Act, which prevents courts from requiring disclosure of information obtained by reporters.
News-gathering activity undertaken by students should be given the same protections as professional journalists, according to the Brief of the Press Amici.
The brief from Sidley Austin, the defendants’ law firm, was in response to the state’s Nov. 10 brief insinuating Medill student reporters paid witnesses for statements. The brief sought to protect the nondisclosure of students’ grades in light of federal privacy law, among other issues.
Other organizations that signed the briefs included the American Society of News Editors, Newspaper Association of America, and Society of Professional Journalists.Susan S. Stevens, a Chicago-area Society of Professional Journalists member, said the organization took part in fighting the subpoena to defend press freedom.
“First Amendment rights are extremely important not just to journalism but to all Americans,” Stevens said. “For Medill especially, you have a great track record with the project. Medill students are intelligent and hardworking. With Innocence Project, we know that each student is extremely concerned with social justice.”
– Kirsten Salyer Jessica Allen contributed reporting
