Friday, August 04, 2006
The Joys of Journalism...
Last summer, a San Francisco Police Officer named Peter Shields was seriously injured during a G-8 protest. During the protest, a blogger/activist named Joshua Wolf was filming, and captured some of the scenes surrounding the assault on Officer Shields. An edited version of his footage is on his website.
A federal grand jury has subpoenad the unedited footage, and Wolf has refused to comply, resulting in him being incarcerated for potentially until next summer. Some of the legal wrangling that led to Wolf's jailing can be found here.
California has a strong state journalism shield law, the feds less so. One of Wolf's arguments is this matter was made federal specifically to avoid state protections. While federal officials note their investigation (due to federally funded property being damaged in the riot) began prior to learning of Wolf's tape - there is one "extra state protection" that it seems law enforcement wanted to avoid - the tense relationship between the San Francisco P.D. and the District Attorney's office, hinted at in this article. The lack of faith the police have in the DA was made apparent when the DA refused to seek the death penalty on the gang member accused of gunning down police officer Isaac Espinoza, and may have had something to do with the police requesting federal involvement in what they've termed the attempted murder of an officer.
Barring a successful appeal, Wolf faces the prospect of jail until the grand jury term ends next summer, or he turns over the evidence.
A federal grand jury has subpoenad the unedited footage, and Wolf has refused to comply, resulting in him being incarcerated for potentially until next summer. Some of the legal wrangling that led to Wolf's jailing can be found here.
California has a strong state journalism shield law, the feds less so. One of Wolf's arguments is this matter was made federal specifically to avoid state protections. While federal officials note their investigation (due to federally funded property being damaged in the riot) began prior to learning of Wolf's tape - there is one "extra state protection" that it seems law enforcement wanted to avoid - the tense relationship between the San Francisco P.D. and the District Attorney's office, hinted at in this article. The lack of faith the police have in the DA was made apparent when the DA refused to seek the death penalty on the gang member accused of gunning down police officer Isaac Espinoza, and may have had something to do with the police requesting federal involvement in what they've termed the attempted murder of an officer.
Barring a successful appeal, Wolf faces the prospect of jail until the grand jury term ends next summer, or he turns over the evidence.
