Joe Hosey: The Illinois Double Murder Case
In December 2014, an Illinois appellate court ruled that a reporter would not have to reveal his sources for a series of articles he wrote about a double murder case.
Joe Hosey, who writes for Patch.com, was the first to break the news on the homicides after obtaining police records with the details of the murders. However, the police records had not been made open to the public. Based off these reports, Hosey wrote a four-part series about the homicides, which occurred in the city of Joliet.
One of the defendants in the case, Bethany McKee, argued that the published articles and other media reports would hinder the jury’s ability to make an impartial decision. Her lawyer requested that Hosey reveal his source.
In September 2013, a judge held Hosey in contempt of the court for refusing to disclose his sources and notes on …show more content…
the cases. Hosey was also charged with a fine of $1,000 as well as an additional $300 for each day he continued to refuse.
Many news organizations, including the Society of Professional Journalists and the non-profit organization Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, filed amicus briefs in support of Hosey.
Illinois has a shield law that gives journalists a qualified privilege that rests on whether certain conditions are met. A court can take this privilege away if it is unable to find the information it is seeking through other sources or means, or if the information a reporter has is relevant to the case at hand.
Ultimately, the Illinois appellate court found that the identity of Hosey’s source was not important or relevant information to the actual murder case. Regardless of who the leaker was, the court already had proof that a murder occurred. Revealing who leaked the reports to Hosey would not have changed or mitigated the charges pressed against the four alleged murderers.
This case, and similar cases in the last few years, have spurred interest in a federal shield law for reporters. In May 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives also passed a law that will give journalists further protection against having to reveal their anonymous
sources.
Joe Hosey, who writes for Patch.com, was the first to break the news on the homicides after obtaining police records with the details of the murders. However, the police records had not been made open to the public. Based off these reports, Hosey wrote a four-part series about the homicides, which occurred in the city of Joliet.
One of the defendants in the case, Bethany McKee, argued that the published articles and other media reports would hinder the jury’s ability to make an impartial decision. Her lawyer requested that Hosey reveal his source.
In September 2013, a judge held Hosey in contempt of the court for refusing to disclose his sources and notes on …show more content…
the cases. Hosey was also charged with a fine of $1,000 as well as an additional $300 for each day he continued to refuse.
Many news organizations, including the Society of Professional Journalists and the non-profit organization Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, filed amicus briefs in support of Hosey.
Illinois has a shield law that gives journalists a qualified privilege that rests on whether certain conditions are met. A court can take this privilege away if it is unable to find the information it is seeking through other sources or means, or if the information a reporter has is relevant to the case at hand.
Ultimately, the Illinois appellate court found that the identity of Hosey’s source was not important or relevant information to the actual murder case. Regardless of who the leaker was, the court already had proof that a murder occurred. Revealing who leaked the reports to Hosey would not have changed or mitigated the charges pressed against the four alleged murderers.
This case, and similar cases in the last few years, have spurred interest in a federal shield law for reporters. In May 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives also passed a law that will give journalists further protection against having to reveal their anonymous
sources.