Media law experts pushed back against San Francisco Police Chief William Scott, who said a freelance journalist allegedly conspired to steal a police report. The experts say it is not a crime to disclose a public record, the Associated Press reports. Attorney Duffy Carolan, who represents several media organizations siding with the independent reporter, said the public has constitutional rights to public records. “The impact of trying to criminalize disclosure of public records, whether or not it violated internal policy or practice, will have a profound effect on public employees’ willingness to disclose public records,” she said. “It would have a chilling effect.” A battle between the press and police is playing out after police raided the home and office of Bryan Carmody in an effort to uncover the source of a leaked police report into the unexpected death of the city’s elected public defender. Jeff Adachi.
A journalist who actively participated in unlawfully acquiring information could be successfully prosecuted for a crime, said David Snyder of the First Amendment Coalition. Snyder emphasized that a police report is “not a confidential, legally protected document” and its publication is lawful. San Francisco Sgt. Michael Andraychak said the report was not a public record and that state law protects crime reports when “disclosure would endanger the successful completion of the investigation or a related investigation.” Media experts said although the law allows police to keep reports secret, it does not require police to do so and it is perfectly lawful to release the information. Police did not raid the office of a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle who obtained the same report independently of Carmody. First Amendment organizations are asking a judge to revoke search warrants that authorized the raids and to unseal the materials submitted in support of them.