On Monday, March 23, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case testing a law from Texas that allows law enforcement officers to arrest reporters who gain information from government employees.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor disagreed with the decision not to hear the case.
“This case implicates one of the most basic journalistic practices of them all: asking sources within the government for information. Each day, countless journalists follow this practice, seeking comment, confirmation, or even ‘scoops’ from governmental sources,” Sotomayor wrote in her dissent.
I see this law as a way for problems to arise because the public is not able to hold the government accountable. With that, the government can have more power in controlling information, which will block the full truth.
“In 2017, Laredo, Texas, journalist Priscilla Villarreal, also known as “La Gordiloca,” was arrested for publishing news stories about a border agent’s public suicide and a car crash. She was arrested because she fact-checked her stories with information voluntarily provided by a police officer,” according to NPR.
This is unfair because a journalist was wrongfully arrested for doing her job. She did a normal protocol of reporting and verifying information to ensure the truth, which is what any good journalist would do. The punishment this law puts in place poses a huge threat to the free press, which can deter journalists from wanting to report on necessary situations.
“This was a blatant First Amendment violation,” Sotomayor wrote in her dissent. “No reasonable officer would have thought that he could have arrested Villarreal, consistent with the Constitution, for asking the questions she asked. Such an arrest is plainly inconsistent with basic First Amendment principles.”
I agree with Sotomayor because part of our First Amendment rights includes being able to speak freely, and asking questions should not lead to an arrest like it did in this case. I think power was wrongfully used in this situation to shed a negative light on journalists and the art of reporting.
Also mentioned in the NPR article, this Texas law had never even been enforced before this case, and it is now a felony to solicit from public officials information that has not already been publicly disclosed.
It is a known fact that the basic fundamentals of journalism are reporting on events and asking questions about situations. These things are essential to accurately report on a situation, and should not be a criminal act.
“The Supreme Court first weighed in on Villarreal’s case last year when it ordered the 5th Circuit to reconsider the case in light of other cases that support Villarreal’s position. But the 5th Circuit, widely viewed as the most conservative federal appeals court in the U.S., again ruled against Villarreal. Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court action means that this judgment will remain in place,” reports NPR.
All in all, America is known for freedom of speech protected under the Constitution, so it is disheartening that the government can punish journalists for just doing their job.
Ali Barretta can be contacted at
