The New York Times Company v. Kai Spears

Summary

The Supreme Court of Alabama addresses two certified questions concerning Alabama's reporter's shield statute, Ala. Code § 12-21-142, in discovery arising from a defamation action by Kai Spears against The New York Times Company. The court declines to answer the first question because Spears waived the issue and its resolution would not affect the underlying case. Rephrasing and answering the second question in the negative, the court holds that the privilege protects information that would inevitably reveal a confidential source's identity, but not all information that could reasonably lead to that identification.

Holdings

1. The Court declined to answer the first certified question because Spears waived the legal issue's relevance to the particular case and an answer would not affect the proceedings pending in the district court.
2. Section 12-21-142 protects a source's identity and information that would inevitably reveal the identity of a confidential source, but it does not protect any and all information that could reasonably lead to discovery of the source's identity.
3. The party asserting the reporter's privilege bears the burden of showing that disclosure of particular information would inevitably reveal the identity of a confidential source, and the trial court must resolve disputed applications through fact-driven determinations.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Alabama Supreme Court should answer whether § 12-21-142 protects the identity of a source whose information is published online by a corporation that also publishes a newspaper.
2. Whether § 12-21-142 protects any and all information that could reasonably lead to identification of a source whose identity is protected from compelled disclosure.

Disposition

other