Prosecutors Investigate Students; AEJMC Urges Subpoena Quash

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 3, 2009

Contacts:
Carol Pardun, AEJMC President (803) 777-3244, pardunc@mailbox.sc.edu
Bill Cassidy, AEJMC Newspaper Division Chair, (815) 753-7005, bcassidy@niu.edu

The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) has issued the following statement in support of David Protess, Professor and Director of The Medill Innocence Project, associated journalism students, and the protection of journalists to report on government:

Prosecutors Investigate Students; AEJMC Urges Subpoena Quash

According to a New York Times story by Monica Davey, prosecutors in Illinois have subpoenaed the “grades, grading criteria, class syllabus, expense reports and e-mail messages” of students involved with Northwestern University’s Medill Innocence Project who investigated whether a man convicted of murder three decades ago had been wrongfully convicted. Prosecutors reportedly want to discover whether there were links between new information learned by the students and their grades. A hearing is set this month at the Cook County (Illinois) Circuit Court regarding this issue.

AEJMC’s position is that this highly unusual request is inappropriate for three reasons:

1. The Medill journalism students should be protected under the Illinois state shield law;
2. If the court grants the prosecutors’ request, journalism students involved with similar projects would think twice about criticizing governmental actions if personal information, such as grades and e-mails, could become public; and
3. Journalists should not be treated as instruments of the State.

AEJMC strongly urges the judge responsible for this case to quash the subpoena and direct prosecutors to investigate the evidence uncovered by the journalism students in a timely and unbiased way.

This statement was issued by the President of AEJMC and through the President’s Advisory Council.

Related links

• Medill Innocence Project
• We Expose Wrongful Conviction of Chicago Area Man Incarcerated for 31 Years — Prosecutors Respond with Subpoenas – by David Protess

Related documents (PDF)

• McKinney Brief Filed
• McKinney Subpoena
• Shield Law Response to States Brief
• Shield Law States Response
• AEJMC Letter to Judge Cannon

About AEJMC

The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication is a nonprofit, educational association of journalism and mass communication educators, students and media professionals. The Association’s mission is to advance education, foster scholarly research, cultivate better professional practice and promote the free flow of communication.

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