Illinois prosecutors subpoenaing student journalists
According to the Student Press Law Center, Illinois state attorneys have subpoenaed the grades, grading criteria, class syllabi, notes, off-the-record communication and other documents from Northwestern’s The Innocence Project. The student journalists have been investigating the case of Anthony McKinney, who was convicted of murdering a security guard in 1978. The Innocence Project students found evidence that suggests McKinney was wrongfully convicted. Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez maintains the students do not qualify for the reporter’s privilege, and if they are going to act like investigators, they have to turn over everything.
Let’s not forget that this is the same state’s attorney’s office that argued college journalists were subject to prior review and censorship under Hazelwood. This seems to be a clear case of intimidation, and the state’s hoping that the college students will fold under it. This is an inexcusable assault on the First Amendment by prosecutors who seems to be afraid to admit they may have sent the wrong man to prison.