Instructor Resource
Trager, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication 6e
CQ Press, 2018
Chapter 8: Overseeing the Courts
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. The majority of federal courts ______.
a. protect reporters from revealing information by using a federal shield law
b. protect reporters from revealing information by using a qualified First Amendment
privilege
c. protect reporters from revealing information by using either a qualified First
Amendment privilege or a federal shield law
d. do not protect reporters from revealing information under any circumstances
2. Jones is a reporter for Channel 10. Jones interviews Kennedy about a group that
robs elderly people’s houses in the community. Jones says Kennedy’s name will not
appear in the story. But the Channel 10 news producer insists Kennedy’s name be part
of the story. After Kennedy hears the story, Kennedy sues Jones, the news producer,
and Channel 10 for breaking Jones’s promise. Kennedy will ______.
a. win because the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts have said the First
Amendment does not protect reporters who break confidentiality promises
b. lose because the producer ordered Jones to reveal Kennedy’s name; Jones did not
do so voluntarily
c. lose because the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts have said the First
Amendment protects reporters who break confidentiality promises
d. lose because no one can sue for a broken oral promise, only for violating a written
contract
3. What is the name of the test used to determine if a reporter should have a qualified
privilege to protect a news source?
a. Booth test
b. Nebraska Press Association test
c. Sullivan test
d. Branzburg test
4. A reporter is least likely to have reporter’s privilege when subpoenaed to testify
______.
a. before a federal grand jury
b. in a criminal trial
c. in a civil case in which he/she is a party
d. in a civil case in which he/she is not a party
5. Former New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed for refusing to testify
______.
a. to a congressional committee about information she received from a confidential
source
b. at a trial about information she received from a confidential source
c. to a grand jury about information she received from a confidential source
d. in a preliminary hearing for a terrorist trial
6. Shield laws are intended to protect the identity of ______.
a. reporters
b. news sources
c. law enforcement agents
d. newspaper publishers
7. The Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial belongs ______.
a. exclusively to the defendant
b. exclusively to the public
c. to any party but not those not directly involved in the court proceeding
d. to both the defendant and the public
8. A shield law exists in ______.
a. 1 state
b. approximately 20 states
c. a majority of states
d. all states
9. In applying the journalist’s privilege, most courts have ______.
a. defined “journalist” as someone with a college degree in journalism or a related field
b. defined “journalist” as someone who has a press pass from a legitimate news media
organization
c. defined “journalist” as someone who writes for a newspaper or appears on television
d. not precisely defined “journalist” in spite of the efforts of some courts to do so
10. The U.S. Supreme Court in Zurcher v. Stanford Daily ruled that a newsroom search
by government agents with a search warrant is ______.
a. a direct interference with freedoms protected by the First Amendment and is
impermissible
b. not a First Amendment issue and is permissible
c. not a First Amendment issue but nonetheless is clearly impermissible
d. against laws in all states
11. A major difference between being the subject of a subpoena and a search warrant is
that ______.
a. there is no difference; you must immediately comply with both
b. there is no difference; you can file a motion to quash both
c. you can challenge the search warrant in court but must immediately comply with a
subpoena
d. you can challenge the subpoena in court but must immediately comply with a search
warrant
12. What action did the U.S. Supreme Court take in Cohen v. Cowles Media Co.?
a. It upheld the jail sentence for a reporter who refused to reveal a source.
b. It ordered a lower court to free a reporter who had been jailed for refusing to identify a
confidential source.
c. It permitted a source who had been promised confidentiality to sue a newspaper for
civil damages when his name was revealed in a news story.
d. It ruled that the First Amendment exempted reporters from the doctrine of promissory
estoppel.
13. Voir dire proceedings and information about jurors are ______.
a. presumptively closed
b. closed absent a specific ruling from the judge
c. presumptively open
d. not considered part of judicial processes covered by the Sixth Amendment
14. Under the doctrine of promissory estoppel, ______.
a. a verbal promise is equivalent to a verbal contract.
b. promises of confidentiality cannot be made by journalists.
c. news sources cannot accept promises of confidentiality.
d. when a promise is relied on and harm follows due to that promise being broken, legal
liability may exist.
15. The impact of Cohen v. Cowles Media Co. includes ______.
a. news media organizations excluding their lawyers from journalistic decision-making
b. sources being more confident that their identities will be kept confidential
c. the concept of promissory estoppel being ruled unconstitutional
d. First Amendment protection for journalists being strengthened
17. Electronic access to court records ______.
a. varies broadly among states and state and federal courts
Instructor Resource
Trager, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication 6e
CQ Press, 2018
b. is consistent and presumptively open throughout all state and federal courts
c. is consistent and presumptively closed in all state and federal courts
d. is presumptively closed in federal courts but may be opened in state courts under
state law
18. Shield laws ______.
a. exist in all states
b. exist in all states and on the federal level
c. vary widely in their coverage and protection
d. protect against “gag” orders
e. exist in all states and on the federal level and protect against “gag” orders
19. Courts generally have found that search warrants served on journalists are ______.
a. legal and must be obeyed
b. violative of journalists’ First Amendment rights
c. prohibited by shield laws
d. legal if the journalist is in a Providence Journal jurisdiction
20. The Supreme Court’s three-part test rejects the protection of reporter’s privilege
when a reporter is likely to have ______.
a. second-hand information that might ease prosecution
b. engaged in illegal activity central to the prosecution
c. possession of information of significant interest, clearly relevant to a legal proceeding
that cannot be obtained by alternate means
d. organized, participated in, and benefitted from a crime
21. Bench/bar/press guidelines ______.
a. limit social interactions between the media and the judiciary to reduce the
appearance of bias or influence
Instructor Resource
Trager, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication 6e
CQ Press, 2018
b. legally bind media to certain rules for coverage of the courts, their official personnel
and trial participants
c. were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court
d. are voluntary agreements between the media and the judiciary that recommend limits
to types of coverage of ongoing judicial proceedings
22. Court’s use of contempt citations to attempt to force journalists to disclose
confidential information ______.
a. is declining because of the federal shield law
b. is declining because the First Amendment protects journalists from contempt citations
c. is on the rise
d. is extremely rare and of little concern to professional newsgatherers
23. The limited protection of reporter’s privilege extends to ______.
a. everyone sharing information with the public over any medium
b. only licensed journalists
c. only journalists working for accredited news organizations
d. reporters some of the time but may not protect freelance journalists
24. The federal shield law ______.
a. supersedes state laws
b. has never been enacted
c. defines journalists broadly
d. none of these
25. To challenge the closure of a court proceeding you must ______.
a. be a party to the trial
b. present a request in the court or in writing for a hearing to review the closure
c. hire an attorney and pay all related court costs prior to the hearing on the merits of
your challenge
Instructor Resource
Trager, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication 6e
CQ Press, 2018
d. be certified by the state or judicial courts in which you wish to present the challenge
26. To determine whether a reporter’s privilege protects a media right to withhold
information, courts that apply the test established by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in
Branzburg v. Hayes ask whether the ______.
a. media possess information that is relevant and cannot be obtained elsewhere without
greater harm to First Amendment interests
b. media possess information that is vital to the trial
c. media possess information that will expedite the investigation and prosecution of
serious crimes
d. information sought is covered by privilege under the First Amendment
27. State shield laws ______.
a. vary both in the nature of the protection they provide and the individuals they shield
b. undermine the clear constitutional protection of reporter’s privilege
c. provide clear protection to anyone providing objective information to the public
d. are very consistent in the nature of the protection they provide and the individuals
they shield
28. State shield laws often do not protect journalists called to testify about ______.
a. information they have not published or distributed
b. events they witnessed
c. cases in which they are the defendant
d. events they witnessed and cases in which they are the defendant
29. The Supreme Court’s decision in Cohen v. Cowles established that ______.
a. news media can be sued for breaking promises of confidentiality
b. general contract law does not apply to the news media
c. enforcement of promissory estoppel violates the First Amendment
d. none of these
Instructor Resource
Trager, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication 6e
CQ Press, 2018
30. The Privacy Protection Act is a ______.
a. law enacted in most states to protect the privacy of jurors
b. federal law that protects juror privacy
c. federal law that protects newsrooms from unwarranted searches
d. law enacted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to protect the privacy of
juvenile parties in trials
31. Law enforcement officers with search warrants generally ______.
a. violate the First Amendment if they search newsrooms
b. may search newsrooms only when there is an immediate risk of destruction of
important material
c. may conduct reasonable searches of newsrooms subject to the terms of applicable
laws
d. may be delayed indefinitely from conducting a newsroom search
32. The Privacy Protection Act ______.
a. restricts the use of search warrants in newsrooms
b. allows journalists to sue law enforcement officers for unreasonable searches
c. protects journalists’ work product from search and seizure as part of a criminal
investigation
d. all of these
33. In Branzburg v. Hayes, the Supreme Court held that requiring journalists to ______.
a. testify before grand juries violates the First Amendment
b. testify before grand juries does not violate the First Amendment
c. produce illegally obtained documents violates the freedom of the press
d. produce illegally obtained documents does not violate the freedom of the press
34. The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure establish that ______.
a. search warrants may be issued without probable cause
b. subpoenas may be issued only to gain material evidence
c. subpoenas may be issued upon request of prosecutors and without justification
d. search warrants are never needed in a case involving national security
35. In Cohen v. Cowles, the Supreme Court held that ______.
a. the federal shield law prohibits a plaintiff from recovering damages for a journalist’s
broken promise
b. the federal shield law does not prohibit a plaintiff from recovering damages for a
journalist’s broken promise
c. the First Amendment does not prohibit a plaintiff from recovering damages for a
journalist’s broken promise
d. the First Amendment prohibits a plaintiff from recovering damages for a journalist’s
broken promise
36. “Fishing expeditions” for evidence related to criminal proceedings are ______.
a. allowed with a valid search warrant
b. allowed for journalists and citizens alike
c. not permitted
d. not permitted unless the investigators believe they are necessary
37. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Branzburg v. Hayes, states ______.
a. quickly repealed their shield laws
b. quickly enacted shield laws
c. attempted to revise their constitutions to provide shields for journalists’ information
d. allowed their shield laws to expire
38. Documentary filmmakers and writers of nonfiction books ______.
a. are uniformly protected by state shield laws
b. are sometimes covered by state shield laws
c. have not attempted to use state shield laws
d. are never covered by shield laws
39. Criminal contempt is sometimes called ______.
a. direct contempt
b. indirect contempt
c. judicial offense
d. innocent disrespect
40. Before closing a courtroom, a judge must show only that ______.
a. openness threatens a fair trial
b. openness threatens a fair trial and no alternatives to closure exist
c. openness threatens a fair trial, no alternatives to closure exist, and closure will
eliminate the threat and will be narrowly tailored to assure maximum public access
d. both the prosecution and the defense agree to closure
1. Reporter’s privilege stems from the Freedom of Information Act.
2. Most states prohibit any form of reporter’s privilege.
3. Of those states that have shield laws, there is consistency in how the laws are
worded and applied.
4. Some state courts have ruled that reporter’s privilege is embedded in their state
constitutions.
5. Promissory estoppel is considered a generally applicable law.
6. The Privacy Protection Act limits the power of law enforcement officers to search
newsrooms.
7. It is clear that reporter’s privilege exists in grand jury situations.
8. The First Amendment protects journalists when they choose to break promises of
confidentiality.
9. Under the Nebraska Press Association test, no review of the likely effectiveness of a
gag on the media is needed before judges may impose gags that limit media reporting
on the courts.
10. Many U.S. courts of appeals have recognized that a reporter’s privilege exists.
11. The Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment protects journalists from the
obligation to testify before a grand jury even if subpoenaed.
12. Both reporter’s privilege and the First Amendment protect journalists from disclosing
the identities of anonymous online posters to their websites to the same degree that
they protect sources promised confidentiality.
13. Only parties to a court proceeding may challenge closure.
14. Sandra likely will win a lawsuit against the Podunk Daily for the harms it caused her
when the newspaper reneged on its promise not to use Sandra’s name in connection
with the information she provided.
15. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that search warrants on reporters and
newsrooms are constitutional and must be obeyed.
16. State shield laws are consistent in what they protect and to whom they apply.
17. The nationwide qualified reporter’s privilege is established by federal statute.
18. The federal shield law establishes standards adopted by state laws that protect all
providers of information of legitimate public information regardless of medium.
19. A contempt of court citation is, essentially, a judge’s verbal warning and carries no
punishment.
20. The majority opinion in Branzburg v. Hayes clearly established a reporter’s privilege
protected by the First Amendment’s free press clause.
21. The free press clause of the First Amendment absolutely protects reporters from
criminal contempt of court citations.
22. The Privacy Protection Act prevents both state and federal law enforcement officers
from seizing journalists’ materials or work products.
23. Reporter’s privilege is bolstered by state laws that explicitly shield the confidential
information gathered by journalists.
24. Courts have not established a clear and consistent standard for those who are
protected by reporter’s privilege.
25. Wyoming was the first state to enact a shield law.
1. List the elements of the test used to determine if a reporter should be given a
qualified privilege to protect a news source.
2. Ron Rider is a reporter for City Business, a weekly newspaper in the city. He writes a
series of articles that appear in the paper detailing a long history of the city’s
Department of Finance not collecting sales from certain businesses. His articles refer to
unnamed sources that he called “close to the director of the Department of Finance.”
The city attorney brings criminal charges against the director of the Department of
Finance, based on Rider’s articles and some independent investigation by the city
attorney’s office. The director’s attorney says that she must have the names of Rider’s
sources so that she can prepare her client’s defense. In part, she claims, there are
people who would like to “get” the director (i.e., framed in criminal charges), and if those
are Rider’s sources they are not to be believed. The judge orders Rider to reveal his
sources; he refuses. The judge holds him in contempt, and Rider appeals. The state
does not have a shield law. However, the state’s courts have applied the generally
accepted test to determine if reporters may keep sources secret. Should the appellate
court order Rider to reveal his sources? Why or why not?
Instructor Resource
Trager, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication 6e
CQ Press, 2018
3. Under the Privacy Protection Act, what reasons can the government use to obtain a
search warrant and search for or seize newsroom materials?
4. Shield laws struggle to appropriately define “journalist.” Compare and contrast at
least two ways states define those protected by their shield law to discuss this difficult
definition and to provide reasoning to support what you believe a good shield law should
do.
5. Explain why the Supreme Court’s ruling in Branzburg v. Hayes prompted states to
adopt shield laws.
6. Describe three different harms to a fair trial attributed to media publicity.
7. Explain the legal foundations for a public right of access to criminal proceedings.
Instructor Resource
Trager, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication 6e
CQ Press, 2018
8. In Sheppard v. Maxwell, the U.S. Supreme Court suggested several ways to protect
the right to a fair trial while affording the greatest freedom of the press. Name three of
these strategies and identify a problem with each.
9. Trial judges have discretion over whether to grant changes of venue and rely on the
Supreme Court’s decisions in Estes v. Texas and Sheppard v. Maxwell to decide
questions about prejudicial media publicity. Discuss the guidance of these two Supreme
Court rulings and reach your own decision about the judge’s proper course of action.
10. The Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants the right to a speedy and
public trial before an impartial jury in the district where the crime was committed. It says
nothing about either the press or the public. Discuss how the Supreme Court has
interpreted the Sixth Amendment’s application to the press and public.