Constitutional Law

Judge sides with newspaper in 1st test of Kan. shield law

By By The Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. — A Sedgwick County judge has ruled that The Wichita Eagle does not have to disclose confidential sources, in a ruling believed to be the first test of a new shield law for reporters in Kansas.

Judge William Woolley said the new law prohibits journalists from being compelled to provide unpublished information that could be obtained elsewhere. The law took effect July 1.

The Eagle reported that the Oct. 26 ruling came in a civil lawsuit filed against a Wichita inflatable-amusement company by the mother of 5-year-old Matthew Branham. The boy died in March after falling from an inflatable ride at Pure Entertainment in Wichita.

She sought the names of two former workers who told reporter Suzanne Perez Tobias they were taught to "launch" children from the ride.

"It's the first challenge I know of for the shield law," said Lyndon Vix, the newspaper's attorney. "It's certainly the first for The Eagle and in Sedgwick County. I think it showed the law works, at least as far as it requires reasonable efforts to be made to acquire the information through alternative means."

The request could be renewed after the plaintiff makes reasonable efforts to obtain the information in other ways, the judge said.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on October 27, 2010 (boomark / email).