Joshua Wolf v. United States of America

A federal grand jury issued a subpoena seeking the unpublished portions of a journalist's videotape of a political demonstration. The journalist refused to hand over the material, asserting his First Amendment rights. The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed amicus briefs arguing that a journalist does have a qualified First Amendment privilege in such circumstances and that a court must balance the reporter's and the public's interest in effective newsgathering versus the government's interest in compelling disclosure.