JOUR303 FINAL QUESTION AND ANSWERS
2024/2025 UPDATED
List five kinds of information generally considered to be prejudicial to the rights
of the criminally accused if disclosed prior to trial by the media.
1) Confessions
2) Admissions
3) Lie detector tests
4) Prior criminal record
5) Attribution of serious character flaws
What are seven alternative remedies available to a court to prevent (or at least
minimize) prejudicial pre-trial publicity?
1) Continuance (delayed trial)
2) Change of venue
3) Voir dire
4) Jury admonitions (don't do ____)
5) Sequestration
6) Gag order on everyone EXCEPT the press (attorneys, court personnel, etc)
7) Closed trial
What is the importance of the Shepard v. Maxwell case in the development of free
press/fair trial-related media law?
He was convicted and jailed. He appealed the conviction based on prejudicial pretrial
(and during trial) publicity; the Supreme Court reversed his conviction on this basis.
SCOTUS said "Hey lower courts, do something about this prejudicial pretrial publicity or
we'll have to overturn" but did not give directions.
What is the three-prong Nebraska Press test for determining the constitutionality
of the use of prior restraint to prevent pretrial publicity?
In order to stop the press from reporting certain kinds of information...
1) The information must be intense and pervasive (on the record)
2) There must be no alternate measures to prior restraint
3) You must be sure that the gag would have the desired effect
What are four practical (NOT legal) reasons reporters argue in favor of a privilege
to withhold information from courts and other governmental investigating
bodies?
1) Would help protect current sources
2) Would encourage other, potential sources to trust journalists
3) Would make journalists' job easier
4) Would ultimately benefit the public
What are four practical reasons those opposed to creating such a privilege to
withhold information from courts and other governmental investigating bodies
might argue?
1) Courts don't like the existing privileges; reluctant to add new ones
2) If you add a privilege for journalists, others will make similar demands
3) A journalist privilege would not be in keeping with existing privileges (power to the
, journalist rather than the client)
4) Difficult to determine who is a journalist/who would be covered by such a privilege
What are three legal bases for arguing that they should be allowed to withhold
such information?
1) 1A
2) State constitutional protections
3) Statutes (shield laws)
What is the three-part Branzburg v.Hayes test?
1) Show . . . probable cause to believe that the newsman has information that is clearly
relevant to a specific probable violation of law
2) Demonstrate that the information sought cannot be obtained by alternative means
less destructive of First Amendment rights
3) Demonstrate a compelling and overriding interest in the information.
Who can make a freedom of information request?
Anyone
How should you make a FOIA request? In what form must the requested
information be before the government is required to respond?
In writing; government only has to respond if the information is already compiled and the
files already exist
Why do we need such a statute - in other words, why not simply rely on the First
Amendment to make the government give up the information?
The 1A does not give the media or public a special right of access to places (like city
council meetings) or to information (like government documents) that may be helpful in
informing the general public about what governmental officials are up to.
List four exceptions to the federal FOIA statutes.
1) Classified to protect national security;
2) Related solely to the internal practices of an agency;
3) Prohibited from disclosure by another federal law.
4) Trade secrets and other confidential commercial information
List four exceptions to the South Carolina FOIA statutes.
1) Income tax returns
2) Medical records
3) Hospital medical staff reports
4) Scholastic records
When is a meeting considered "public?"
Public meetings (where anyone can attend) require a quorum of a public body, in
person or virtual, to discuss a matter that the public body is in charge of
When would it be proper for a "public body" to meet without the public being
allowed to be present?
Employment discussions, contract discussions, security discussions, criminal
misconduct proceedings, industry/business expansion/location (basically NOT public
issues).
Would a meeting conducted electronically (using Zoom or something similar) be
subject to the same rules as an in-person meeting and, if so, how would that
happen?
2024/2025 UPDATED
List five kinds of information generally considered to be prejudicial to the rights
of the criminally accused if disclosed prior to trial by the media.
1) Confessions
2) Admissions
3) Lie detector tests
4) Prior criminal record
5) Attribution of serious character flaws
What are seven alternative remedies available to a court to prevent (or at least
minimize) prejudicial pre-trial publicity?
1) Continuance (delayed trial)
2) Change of venue
3) Voir dire
4) Jury admonitions (don't do ____)
5) Sequestration
6) Gag order on everyone EXCEPT the press (attorneys, court personnel, etc)
7) Closed trial
What is the importance of the Shepard v. Maxwell case in the development of free
press/fair trial-related media law?
He was convicted and jailed. He appealed the conviction based on prejudicial pretrial
(and during trial) publicity; the Supreme Court reversed his conviction on this basis.
SCOTUS said "Hey lower courts, do something about this prejudicial pretrial publicity or
we'll have to overturn" but did not give directions.
What is the three-prong Nebraska Press test for determining the constitutionality
of the use of prior restraint to prevent pretrial publicity?
In order to stop the press from reporting certain kinds of information...
1) The information must be intense and pervasive (on the record)
2) There must be no alternate measures to prior restraint
3) You must be sure that the gag would have the desired effect
What are four practical (NOT legal) reasons reporters argue in favor of a privilege
to withhold information from courts and other governmental investigating
bodies?
1) Would help protect current sources
2) Would encourage other, potential sources to trust journalists
3) Would make journalists' job easier
4) Would ultimately benefit the public
What are four practical reasons those opposed to creating such a privilege to
withhold information from courts and other governmental investigating bodies
might argue?
1) Courts don't like the existing privileges; reluctant to add new ones
2) If you add a privilege for journalists, others will make similar demands
3) A journalist privilege would not be in keeping with existing privileges (power to the
, journalist rather than the client)
4) Difficult to determine who is a journalist/who would be covered by such a privilege
What are three legal bases for arguing that they should be allowed to withhold
such information?
1) 1A
2) State constitutional protections
3) Statutes (shield laws)
What is the three-part Branzburg v.Hayes test?
1) Show . . . probable cause to believe that the newsman has information that is clearly
relevant to a specific probable violation of law
2) Demonstrate that the information sought cannot be obtained by alternative means
less destructive of First Amendment rights
3) Demonstrate a compelling and overriding interest in the information.
Who can make a freedom of information request?
Anyone
How should you make a FOIA request? In what form must the requested
information be before the government is required to respond?
In writing; government only has to respond if the information is already compiled and the
files already exist
Why do we need such a statute - in other words, why not simply rely on the First
Amendment to make the government give up the information?
The 1A does not give the media or public a special right of access to places (like city
council meetings) or to information (like government documents) that may be helpful in
informing the general public about what governmental officials are up to.
List four exceptions to the federal FOIA statutes.
1) Classified to protect national security;
2) Related solely to the internal practices of an agency;
3) Prohibited from disclosure by another federal law.
4) Trade secrets and other confidential commercial information
List four exceptions to the South Carolina FOIA statutes.
1) Income tax returns
2) Medical records
3) Hospital medical staff reports
4) Scholastic records
When is a meeting considered "public?"
Public meetings (where anyone can attend) require a quorum of a public body, in
person or virtual, to discuss a matter that the public body is in charge of
When would it be proper for a "public body" to meet without the public being
allowed to be present?
Employment discussions, contract discussions, security discussions, criminal
misconduct proceedings, industry/business expansion/location (basically NOT public
issues).
Would a meeting conducted electronically (using Zoom or something similar) be
subject to the same rules as an in-person meeting and, if so, how would that
happen?
