A coalition of media and free-speech advocates is calling on the San Joaquin County sheriff to assure the public he will not investigate or prosecute journalists for doing their jobs.
After arresting a former county court clerk over the release of a sealed search warrant in another case, the Sheriff’s Office said reporters who obtained a copy of that warrant are subject to investigation as part of a possible conspiracy.
In response, in an open letter to the sheriff Wednesday, the media coalition described the possibility of investigating or prosecuting journalists for Constitutionally protected reporting as “chilling.”
The legal saga began with deputies arresting a Stockton school board member, then arresting the court clerk, whom they accused of intentionally releasing a sealed search warrant in the school board case.
Prosecution of the former clerk is a simple misdemeanor, but has already pitted the sheriff’s office against the court system. Now the case, and the sheriff’s vow to expand the investigation, has triggered fundamental questions about the First Amendment rights of the free press to cover the legal proceedings and the justice system. …
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Cassie Dickman 