Source
United States v. Morison (4th Cir.) (1988)
The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University, 2009
- Kind
- reference
- Last checked
- 2026-09-26
- Archived copy
- none yet
Cited by
- United States: Espionage Act conviction of Samuel Loring Morison for leaking satellite photographs to Jane's Defence Weekly, 1985 to 1988
- Claim 772: The government prosecuted Morison after identifying him as the source of the leaked photographs.
- Claim 773: Morison held a security clearance at the Naval Intelligence Support Center and had signed an agreement not to disclose classified information.
- Claim 774: The leaked photographs showed a Soviet aircraft carrier under construction and were published by Jane's in 1984.
- Claim 775: Morison leaked the satellite photographs to Jane's Defence Weekly.
- Claim 776: Judge Russell explained that different sections of the Espionage Act covered disclosure to foreign governments and disclosure to others, including the press.
- Claim 777: The court separately upheld Morison's conviction on the related federal charge of theft of government property.
- Claim 778: The court held that transmitting information to the media does not give a source special constitutional protection.
- Claim 779: Morison's case ended with a presidential pardon after the Supreme Court declined to hear it.
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