Category / Read / Law and ethics

CommentaryThe contempt conviction of Hamilton Spectator reporter Ken Peters for refusing to name a source shows the wisdom of devising an exit strategy before making a promise of confidentiality. By Dean Jobb.

FeatureA committee of Nova Scotia judges and journalists has decided that court officials should decide which reporters and media organizations can use cameras and tape recorders at the Law Courts building in Halifax, the province’s busiest courthouse. As Ainslie MacLellan reports in the King’s JournalismReview, journalists haven’t protested but media lawyers warn the plan sets…

FeatureMedia outlets have the right – if not always the means – to oppose motions to withhold the details of criminal cases. By Dean Jobb

NewsAn Ontario judge has struckdown laws that empowered the RCMP to raid the home of Ottawa Citizen reporter Juliet O’Neill, in a bid to expose the source of a leak about the Mahar Ararcase. Justice Lynn Ratushney ruled that sections of the Security and Information Act designed to crack down on leaks of information violate…

CommentaryControversy over Prophet Muhammad cartoons fuels debate over the limits of freedom of expression. Dean Jobb comments.

CommentaryFormer National Post reporter Andrew McIntosh’scourt victory to protect a key source in his Shawinigate investigation should resonate across the country. By Dean Jobb.

The iconic photographs that help define history could be under threat from a new British privacy law, a media lawyer warns. Full report.