The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

Claim

Claim 780

The Fourth Circuit's ruling rested on Branzburg v. Hayes, in which the Supreme Court had held that reporters must respond to grand jury subpoenas the same as other citizens.

Published 2026-09-26. Last reviewed 2026-09-26. 1 source.

Statement
The Fourth Circuit's ruling rested on Branzburg v. Hayes, in which the Supreme Court had held that reporters must respond to grand jury subpoenas the same as other citizens.
Field
effect_on_reporting
Value
Branzburg's actual holding
About
incident 1985-us-morison-espionage-act-conviction
Source
Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665 (1972)
Publisher
Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
Method
court record
Checked
2026-09-26
Confidence
high
Status
current
Source date
1972

Quotation from the source

The sole issue before us is the obligation of reporters to respond to grand jury subpoenas as other citizens do and to answer questions relevant to an investigation into the commission of crime.