It looked like Fox News reporter Jana Winter might face jail time for refusing to reveal her sources related to the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting. But Christopher Handman of Hogan Lovells turned the case around this week, winning a ruling that’s being hailed as a milestone for press freedom.
In a 4-3 decision issued on Tuesday, the New York Court of Appeals shot down a Colorado subpoena that would have required Winter to reveal confidential sources for her reporting on the shooting. The four-judge majority concluded that “directing a [New York–based] reporter to appear in another state where, as here, there is a substantial likelihood that she will be compelled to identify sources who have been promised confidentiality, would offend our strong public policy—a common law, statutory and constitutional tradition that has played a significant role in this state becoming a media capital of the country if not the world.”
