http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050716-0558-sportsillustrated-shield.html
By John Zenor
ASSOCIATED PRESS
5:58 a.m. July 16, 2005
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A federal appeals court ruled that Alabama's shield law does not protect Sports Illustrated from having to identify a confidential source for a defamation suit against the magazine.
But the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday that attorneys for University of Alabama football coach Mike Price, who is suing the magazine, must question several women under oath before the magazine would be required to disclose its source. The court said the anonymous source the magazine relied upon is "almost certainly" one of three women whose names have surfaced in the case.
The 2003 story quoted the source as saying Price had sex with two women in a hotel after getting drunk at a topless bar in Pensacola, Fla. Price has admitted having too much to drink but denied the magazine's report about having sex.
The three-judge panel, siding with a lower court, held that Alabama's law specifically mentions protecting newspapers and broadcasters from disclosing confidential sources, but does not mention magazines and therefore does not cover them.
Rick McCabe, a Sports Illustrated spokesman, said they are "disappointed that the court concluded that the Alabama shield law does not apply to magazines."
Price attorney Stephen Heninger called the ruling "a huge decision for us" and said one of the three women cited by the court – Lori "Destiny" Boudreaux – has already told him she was the source in a sworn affidavit.
"She was the confidential source. She will say that. That's what we wanted all along," Heninger said.
Attempts to locate Boudreaux, who had been a dancer at the topless club, Artey's Angels, were not immediately successful.
The ruling comes only days after Time Inc., the parent company of Sports Illustrated, turned over the e-mail and notes of one of its Time magazine reporters after losing a federal court fight to protect its confidential source in a story about disclosing a CIA officer's identity. Price was fired as Alabama's coach because of his night of partying. He is now head coach at Texas-El Paso.
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Not sure, but I think this could have a profound effect on how SI is able to gather their stories if their sources cannot be protected under shield laws.
By John Zenor
ASSOCIATED PRESS
5:58 a.m. July 16, 2005
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A federal appeals court ruled that Alabama's shield law does not protect Sports Illustrated from having to identify a confidential source for a defamation suit against the magazine.
But the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday that attorneys for University of Alabama football coach Mike Price, who is suing the magazine, must question several women under oath before the magazine would be required to disclose its source. The court said the anonymous source the magazine relied upon is "almost certainly" one of three women whose names have surfaced in the case.
The 2003 story quoted the source as saying Price had sex with two women in a hotel after getting drunk at a topless bar in Pensacola, Fla. Price has admitted having too much to drink but denied the magazine's report about having sex.
The three-judge panel, siding with a lower court, held that Alabama's law specifically mentions protecting newspapers and broadcasters from disclosing confidential sources, but does not mention magazines and therefore does not cover them.
Rick McCabe, a Sports Illustrated spokesman, said they are "disappointed that the court concluded that the Alabama shield law does not apply to magazines."
Price attorney Stephen Heninger called the ruling "a huge decision for us" and said one of the three women cited by the court – Lori "Destiny" Boudreaux – has already told him she was the source in a sworn affidavit.
"She was the confidential source. She will say that. That's what we wanted all along," Heninger said.
Attempts to locate Boudreaux, who had been a dancer at the topless club, Artey's Angels, were not immediately successful.
The ruling comes only days after Time Inc., the parent company of Sports Illustrated, turned over the e-mail and notes of one of its Time magazine reporters after losing a federal court fight to protect its confidential source in a story about disclosing a CIA officer's identity. Price was fired as Alabama's coach because of his night of partying. He is now head coach at Texas-El Paso.
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Not sure, but I think this could have a profound effect on how SI is able to gather their stories if their sources cannot be protected under shield laws.
