I note with interest Carter's links critical of proposed media "shield" legislation, or at least current versions of such legislation. In the spirit of airing a variety of views, here's a recent U.S. News interview with my Manhattan Institute colleague Judith Miller, who spent 85 days in jail rather than reveal a source, and who calls a federal journalistic shield law "long overdue".

I will confess that I haven't fully sorted out my own opinions about the issues raised by such legislation. One of the perennial themes of our legal reform work, however, is that the power of subpoena wielded by lawyers, prosecutors and government officials is a sweeping and often oppressive one that must be watched and delimited carefully given its inherent tendency to serve as an instrument of abuse. So I'm never surprised to see the targets and potential targets of subpoenas rallying public opinion toward the curtailment of that power.