CASE STUDY: The imperfect martyr
Special Citation: Josh Wolf
Blogger Josh Wolf was released from federal prison on April 3 after spending more than seven months behind bars for refusing to appear before a grand jury that sought his testimony and video of a San Francisco anarchist demonstration. Wolfe was released after a compromise was reached whereas the self-proclaimed anarchist and freelance journalist surrendered the video and the grand jury subpoena was withdrawn.
During a July 2005 anti-G8 protest, the 24-year-old Wolf filmed a San Francisco police officer being struck, and fireworks and a mattress placed under the officer’s blocked vehicle. Three protesters were arrested and Wolfe’s video included parts of the incident. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force became involved after prosecutors said arson had been committed and that trying to burn a police car constituted a federal crime because the city’s police received federal funding. The move also allowed prosecutors to avoid California’s shield law since there is no federal shield law.
Wolfe had offered to release his video last year because he claimed it had been shown extensively online and on television, and because he didn’t think there was any criminal evidence on it. The federal judge who sent him to prison declined to view it. Wolf refused to comply because he believed prosecutors were trying to obtain names and identities of people in the protest. There were three central issues in the dispute:
- Can journalists refuse grand jury subpoenas, and if so, under what circumstances?
- Did Wolfe meet the legal definition of a journalist or was he just an activist filming?
- Did the government have standing or was it simply dodging the state law?
Wolfe repeatedly lost in federal courts and the established media had a tendency to disown him. He received support, however, from the independent media, the ACLU, National Defense Lawyers and the International Press Institute for his involvement in a First Amendment issue.
Wolfe’s 226 days in a federal prison surpassed the 168 days spent in jail by Texas true-crime author Vanessa Leggett in 2001. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 134 journalists were imprisoned during the first 11 months of 2006, nine more than in 2005. Forty-nine of them were considered Internet journalists.
CASE STUDY QUESTIONS
- Should the definition of a journalist be widened considering the dramatic increase in the influence of bloggers and Internet news?
- Is the Internet an important news element, and should it receive the same protection?
- Why should journalists and their sources be protected from prosecution?
- Is it wrong for journalists not to aid in criminal investigations while protecting their sources?
