Gavel & Stryker, made from Cherry & Ash, sold to Whitney Hoffman. Wikimedia Commons.

Strafford County Superior Court Judge Steven Houran ruled against the state Tuesday in its attempt to subpoena the unpublished notes of Foster’s Daily Democrat reporter Brain Early.

Houran’s decision states, “Allowing litigants’ unfettered access to obtain material that press entities have chosen not to make available to the public creates at least a ‘lurking and subtle threat,’ if not a more significant danger, to the operation of newsgathering activities and the dissemination of information to the public.”

The New England First Amendment Coalition and SPJ wrote a statement in support of Foster’s Daily Democrat last week to protect their journalist Brian Early’s notes. Our chapter is happy to see the judge side with us on this one.

Foster’s Report on Houran’s decision can be read here: http://www.fosters.com/news/20180403/judge-sides-with-fosters-in-jailhouse-interview-case