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From: riddle@hoss.unl.edu (Michael H. Riddle)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: CNN
Message-ID: <1990Nov20.035510.23148@hoss.unl.edu>
Date: 20 Nov 90 03:55:10 GMT
References: <1990Nov16.235831.25433@agate.berkeley.edu> <4948@rsiatl.UUCP> <5378@prussian9.UUCP>
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In <5378@prussian9.UUCP> dogar@motcid.UUCP (Haroon H. Dogar) writes:

>jgd@rsiatl.UUCP (John G. DeArmond) writes:

>>Defend themselves?  Considering that according to the papers, CNN 
>>originally stole these tapes from the government, 

>Uh... I'm no legal eagle, but it seems to me that for "the government"
>to have tapes of conversations between a defendant and his/her lawyer
>has got to be against some law.

Not when the tapes were made in the prison, and Noriega had signed a
waiver of recording in order to use the phone.  It's still unanswered how
the government tapes got into the hands of the CNN.

>>Maybe since the tapes are back
>>under control of the court, Noriega can stand trial and have some chance
>>of it being fair.

>Not if the other side knows what he and his lawyer have been talking about.
>(I think its equally wrong for CNN to have or broadcast these conversations.)

At this moment, CNN still has the tapes, they just have a court order, in
essence validated by the Supreme Court, not to broadcast them.  Tonight's
paper said that CNN would provide a copy of the tapes to the district
court so the judge will now be able to decide if Noriega's constitutional
rights to an impartial jury and a fair trial will be violated by the
entire world hearing conversations with his lawyer.  I expect CNN will
keep copies of the tapes.

Remember also that the government is big.  Just because the prison has the
tapes doesn't mean that the U.S. attorney has them.  (Although if I were
on the bench I'd put the burden of proof on the government, with the best
access to the evidence on the point, to prove the U.S. attorney had NOT
heard them.)

Even in the Pentagon Papers case, the publishing of the papers was
restrained for about a week until the Supreme Court considered the matter.
I don't think it's too much to ask CNN to wait until the Court can review
the tapes in this case.  While the Free Press is a fundamental right, so
is a Fair Trial.


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riddle@hoss.unl.edu                  |   University of Nebraska 
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