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Mass Media Law, 13/e
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Protection of News Sources/Contempt Power

Multiple Choice Quiz



1

The majority of subpoenas to reporters:
A)Are to broadcast, rather than print, reporters.
B)Involve criminal, rather than civil, litigation.
C)Are complied with by the press.
D)Seek nonconfidential information.
E)All of the above are correct.
F)Only A and B are correct.
2

The qualified privilege to keep sources or information confidential:
A)Is available to all citizens where it is available to the press.
B)Is normally available only to doctors, attorneys and priests.
C)Is standardized among the 50 states.
D)Each of the above is correct.
E)None of the above is correct.
3

Journalists usually ground their rationale for refusing to reveal confidential sources on:
A)Their right to be free of government harassment.
B)The practicality of losing sources.
C)The desire to avoid civil damages.
D)A and B are correct.
4

The use of promissory estoppel and the ultimate decision in Cohen v. Cowles Media Co. (1990) is:
A)Based on the doctrine that a promise, like a contract, is always binding.
B)Based on the doctrine that a promise that someone else relies on must be enforced.
C)Based on the fact that a promise is not binding if conditions change.
D)Contingent on whether information is legally obtained and truthful.
5

Most lower courts consider the Branzburg v. Hayes (1972) ruling:
A)A very narrow decision focused only on grand juries.
B)No longer applicable to any official request for information.
C)Applicable only to federal law-enforcement, not state law-enforcement, information requests.
D)A broad and useful rule for all types of subpoenas for information.
6

Reporters ordered to reveal names in arenas outside of the grand jury:
A)Are bound by the Branzburg v. Hayes case.
B)Have received some First Amendment protection in 10 of 12 U.S. courts of appeal.
C)Have received broad protection from the U.S. Supreme Court.
D)None of the above is correct.
7

In civil cases in which reporters have refused to reveal their sources, they have successfully found a qualified privilege at times in:
A)Common law.
B)State statutes.
C)The Constitution.
D)All of the above are correct.
E)None of the above is correct.
8

In Downing v. Monitor Publishing (1980) and Sierra Life v. Magic Valley Newspapers (1980), reporters refused to reveal their sources for libelous stories and the judges:
A)Sent the reporters to jail for contempt.
B)Instructed the jury to assume that no source existed.
C)Fined the newspapers for delaying the trials.
D)Asked the reporters to prove that the stories were true.
9

In Gonzales v. National Broadcasting Co. (1998) and U.S. v. Smith (1998), the 2nd and 5th Circuits U.S. Courts of Appeals:
A)Required reporters to testify about nonconfidential information.
B)Did not require reporters to testify about nonconfidential information.
C)Disagreed on whether reporters must testify about nonconfidential information.
D)Refused to rule and are awaiting guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court.
10

Where shield laws exist:
A)They have been very effective in reducing the number of subpoenas issued.
B)They have proven to be a greater protection for journalists than constitutional privilege.
C)They have had little effect in reducing the number of subpoenas issued.
D)B and C are each correct.
11

In Zurcher v. Stanford Daily (1978), the U.S. Supreme Court said innocent third-party searches are:
A)A violation of the First Amendment.
B)A violation of the Fourth Amendment.
C)A violation of both the First and Fourth Amendments.
D)A Fourth Amendment issue that does not involve the First Amendment and does not violate the Fourth Amendment.
12

The power of contempt may be used to:
A)Protect the rights of participants in court cases.
B)Vindicate the authority of the court.
C)A and B.
D)Neither A nor B.
13

In U.S. v. Dickinson (1972), the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said:
A)Reporters don't have to follow court orders that seem clearly unconstitutional.
B)Reporters and other citizens don't have to follow court orders that seem clearly unconstitutional.
C)Reporters like other citizens must obey court orders, although they may appeal an order that seems unconstitutional.
D)Each jurisdiction can decide whether citizens have to follow court orders that seem clearly unconstitutional.
14

Journalists are likely to face contempt charges when they:
A)Don't pay a libel judgment.
B)Fail to obey a court order.
C)Write a critical commentary about the court.
D)All of the above.
15

The 1964 civil rights law requires a jury trial for:
A)All contempt sentences.
B)Contempt sentences of more than 30 days.
C)Contempt sentences of more than 45 days.
D)Contempt sentences on the press.