Fox News: Reporter Subpoenaed In Colorado Shooting Case Protected By Shield Law

By Alex Weprin 

Fox News is responding to a subpoena of one of its reporters, Jana Winter. Following the terrible shooting in Aurora, Colorado last year, Winter reported that suspect James Holmes had sent his psychiatrist a notebook filled with violent imagery.

Holmes’ attorney argued that that information violated a gag order, and subpoenaed Winter to get her to reveal her source.

According to ABC 7 Denver, attorneys for Winter have filed a response to the subpoena.

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The attorneys also assert that Winter’s work is protected by New York’s shield law, which says a reporter’s confidential sources are “absolutely privileged and testimony about those sources cannot be compelled by any governmental body regardless of the purpose for which that testimony is sought.”

They say her work is also protected under Colorado’s shield law because her testimony is not “directly relevant”  to the horrific crime and the defense has not exhausted other avenues for finding the information.

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