Legal scholars and media personalities debated the balance of rights, responsibilities, and liability of both the media and the government during a hypothetical health crisis as part of the New York Fair Trial/Free Press Conference at Albany Law School on Sept. 22.
Informed by the reactions, restrictions, and reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program will explore the interplay of First Amendment rights to attend and report on trials, defamation law, protection of the press and sources, and the Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial during a fictional outbreak of “duck flu” in a rural Upstate New York county, and the ensuing government response and media fallout.
Panelists included:
Susan J. Arbetter – Political Anchor, Capitol Tonight (Spectrum News)
Stephen Clark – Professor of Law, Albany Law School
Mary Pat Donnelly ‘97 – District Attorney, Rensselaer County
Hon. Michael J. Garcia ‘89 – Associate Judge, New York Court of Appeals
Michael J. Grygiel – Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
E. Stewart Jones, Jr. ’66 – Partner, Jones Hacker Murphy, LLP
Hon. William T. Little, Jr. ‘05 – Judge, Albany County Court
Judith Patrick – V.P. for Editorial Development, New York Press Association
Casey Seiler – Current Editor, Times Union
Moderators were:
Hon. Albert Rosenblatt – Retired Judge, New York Court of Appeals
Rex Smith – Former Editor, Albany Times-Union
