First Amendment Center:
The American Civil Liberties Union has invoked a new state law to protect a Big Island documentary filmmaker subpoenaed to provide his unpublished interviews and raw video footage.
The shield law, enacted last year, protects journalists and others who are acting as news-gatherers from having to testify or produce evidence.
The subpoenas stem from a property dispute in Kauai. For eight years, landowner Joseph Brescia had sought to build on a parcel on Naue Point where 30 graves had been discovered, according to the ACLU.
Though the state Supreme Court ruled against his construction plans, Brescia filed civil lawsuits against those he contended delayed his project.
As part of those suits, Brescia subpoenaed Keoni Kealoha Alvarez, who for two years has been documenting Native Hawaiian burial practices. Alvarez is not a party in the suits.
The subpoenas, addressed to Alvarez personally and to his video production firm, demand video recordings that Alvarez did not use in his documentary as well as interviews that have not been published.
In a statement, Alvarez said he promised his interview subjects complete confidentiality because the subject matter — Native Hawaiian belief systems and burial practices — are generally considered to be taboo.
“If I’m forced to turn over these tapes, we’ll never be able to do a project like this again,” he added. “The trust in the journalist will be destroyed.”
Under the shield law, Alvarez is protected from complying with the subpoena, said ACLU senior staff attorney Daniel Gluck. The ACLU has sent Brescia’s lawyer a letter saying the shield law voids the subpoenas, Gluck said, adding that it may be the first time since its enactment that the law has been invoked.
Another Alvarez lawyer, James Bickerton, said in a statement, “Simply put, Brescia has no right to these materials. If he can’t see that by reading the law, we will ask the court to explain it to him.”
Brescia can request a court hearing to have his subpoena enforced, Gluck said.
Gov. Linda Lingle signed the legislation July 3, 2008.
Both traditional and online journalists are protected under the law, though reporters working for Internet sites have to show that they’re serving the public interest before they can be granted the safeguard.
Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia have enacted shield laws, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. However, Gluck said all 50 states, either through statute or court rulings, have some level of protections for reporters.
Brescia and his lawyer could not be reached for comment for this story.
More:
Honolulu Advertiser:
The American Civil Liberties Union said yesterday it is taking the case of an independent filmmaker working on a documentary about Native Hawaiian burial practices who has been subpoenaed by lawyers for a man who wants to build a house on land in Kauai where a burial site was found…
ACLU takes case of filmmaker subpoenaed in suit over Kauai Iwi, building of home.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin:
“A documentary filmmaker from the Big Island is the first person to invoke Hawaii’s media-shield law, which took effect last year.
The law protects journalists from being forced to reveal news sources and unpublished material and information….”
