Las Vegas Newspaper Wants Slain Reporter's Devices Returned

After a reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal was killed, investigators seized his personal cell phone, external hard drive, and four computers as part of their investigation. The newspaper has demanded that the devices be returned because they may contain confidential information regarding the reporter's sources and work product. 

“The stakes for a free and independent press in Nevada could not be higher,” said Ashley Kissinger, who is representing the Review-Journal. “Officials in law enforcement want to review information in these devices that likely would reveal the newspaper’s confidential sources at those very agencies. That happens in other countries, but not in the United States. This is precisely why we have press shield laws prohibiting this.”

Ms. Kissinger is a member of Ballard Spahr's Litigation Department and Media and Entertainment Law Group.

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