How is the constitutional reporters privilege qualified?
Courts have set forth a multi-factor balancing test for deciding the applicability of the constitutional reporter’s privilege. Generally, the subpoenaing party must show that the material is unavailable despite exhaustion of all reasonable alternative sources, that there is a compelling and overriding interest in obtaining the information, and that it is clearly relevant to an important issue in the case. In the ordinary civil case, the privilege will prevent discovery. Some courts have placed more severe restrictions on this First Amendment right in certain circumstances, such as criminal cases. The Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press has an excellent compendium of the reporter’s privilege laws in every jurisdiction.
