A Theory of Shield Laws: Journalists, Their Sources, and Popular Constitutionalism

A Theory of Shield Laws: Journalists, Their Sources, and Popular Constitutionalism
Dean C. Smith
June 2013

ISBN-13:  978-1-59332-615-9 / Hardcover
Dimensions:  5.5 x 8.5 / viii, 304 pages

Regular Price: $80.00
Save 75% now! (That's $60.00 off!) *

Price   $20.00

Description

In this history of debate over journalists’ confidential sources, starting in 1894, Smith employs contemporary theories of constitutional interpretation to weave a surprising narrative melding legislature-made statutory law and court-made constitutional law. Working under the banner of “popular constitutionalism,” Smith tests Michael Gerhardt’s theory of non-judicial precedents to illuminate the role journalists and press advocates played in shaping the path of constitutional law and giving voice to deeply felt First Amendment values. Along the way, the author corrects the historical record in important ways, including recasting events that led to the nation’s first shield law in 1896.

About the Author

Dean Smith is an award-winning legal historian whose research explores how journalists helped shape the path of constitutional law. In 2012, he won the Nafziger-White-Salwen Dissertation Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. He also won Second Place Faculty Award from AEJMC’s Law and Policy Division. In 2009, he won that division’s Top Student Paper Award. He is currently an assistant professor at High Point University.

* Books on sale are available at the sale price only through this site.