Earl Caldwell (journalist) - Supreme Court

Supreme Court

The central case in the United States Supreme Court's defining of reporter’s rights was the United States v. Caldwell in 1972. This was based on Caldwell, then with The New York Times, refusal to appear before a federal grand jury and disclose confidential information involving his sources in the Black Panther Party. In a historic ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit supported Caldwell’s position. Later on, however, that decision was reversed. However, in an apparent conflict of interest, the deciding vote was cast by then Associate Justice William Rehnquist, who, as a U.S. Justice Department lawyer, had been intimately involved in the Caldwell case.