Source: http://45words.org/lifelines/
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 14:32:13+00:00

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Need quick answers to help make good decisions or to protect yourselves and support your actions? Need a quick definition or simple knowledge reinforcement?
Listed below are legal terms you might come in contact with during your studies of legal issues or in handling legal problems. We have tried to provide full definitions and in cases links for additional or authoritative information.
Accused (noun) — An accused person is one charged with an offense in a criminal or civil case. It is important for reporters to use the word “accused” or “charged” until a person has been proven guilty.
Advertising policy — An advertising policy could also be part of the overall editorial policy. It should include the types of ads the publication or medium will or will not accept. It could also include a statement about when payments are due, a statement about the right to accept or reject any ad, and a statement about the right to cancel ads. Check out http://www.flintjournal.com/advertise/advpolicy.html for ideas.
Anonymous sources – Any source whose name is withheld.
Appellant – An individual or party who appeals a lower court decision the individual or part has lost.
Appellate court – court which hears appeals from lower court decisions, also called a court of appeals.
Appellee – An individual or party who has won at the trial court level. Also, called the “respondent” for misdemeanors.
Acquitted — A person is acquitted when all the charges brought against him/her have been dismissed or when he/she is found not guilty. An acquittal indicates innocence of the accused.
Candidate endorsements — An editorial policy might include a statement about whether your publication can endorse political candidates, or candidates for student offices or for school board positions. Think about what might happen if your candidates should lose. Would your publication suffer as a consequence? Endorsing candidates for national office is different than endorsing candidates within a school setting.
Central Hudson analysis – A four-part test by the U.S. Supreme Court used by courts to determine whether a government restriction on commercial speech (e.g., advertising) is constitutional.
Certiorari – An order from a higher court (generally the Supreme Court) to a lower court requesting all documents in a case decided by a lower court. These document are used to decide whether a higher court will hear a review of a lower court’s decision.
Charge — Authorities charge criminals for misconduct when they place blame on them for an act of misbehaving. In civil cases the charge might be one of libel by an individual who thinks someone defamed him. The Free Dictionary defines a charge as follows: 1) in a criminal case, the specific statement of what crime the party is accused (charged with) contained in the indictment or criminal complaint. 2) in jury trials, the oral instructions by the judge to the jurors just before the jury begins deliberations. This charge is based on jury instructions submitted by attorneys on both sides and agreed upon by the trial judge. 3) a fee for services.
Civic Responsibility — This term refers to one’s responsibility as a citizen of the United States. For example, one has the civic duty to serve on a jury and the civic duty to vote in elections. The site http://learningtogive.org/papers/paper11.html traces the history of civic responsibility and its importance to a democratic society.
Conflict of Interest — A conflict of interest arises when a person’s decisions are influenced by his/her personal interests. A conflict of interest is a situation in which financial or other personal considerations have the potential to compromise or bias professional judgment and objectivity, according to http://www.columbia.edu/ccnmtl/projects/rcr/rcr_conflicts/foundation/index.html. There are two categories of conflicts of interest. Some involve academic activities. Most involve financial gain. For example, a conflict of interest might exist at the secondary school level if a student reporter writes a favorable review of an establishment where he/she works, and as a result the reporter gets an increase in pay.
Consent – For purposes of media law, consent is an important defense to a charge of invasion of privacy or other newsgathering act or publication of information that might give rise to legal claim. A person found to have validly consented to the publication of information about themselves or to certain newsgathering activities cannot prevail in a subsequent lawsuit based on those acts. In obtaining consent, it is essential that the person providing it fully understand what they are consenting to and that they have the ability and the legal right to provide it.
Correction – To fix a statement previously published (compare to “retraction.”) A correction is appropriate when part of an original statement is determined to be inaccurate or seriously misleading and updated information can be substituted to make the statement accurate.
For examples of situations you might include in an obituary policy. This policy might also be part of the overall editorial policy.
Editorial policy — All publications need a code of operating practice—a policy that provides the guidelines for reporters and editors as to what is or is not acceptable. If students are making content decisions, the editorial policy should state that the medium is a public forum. A policy should point out that the medium will not do anything unethical or illegal, such a defaming someone’s character or invading someone’s privacy. It might also include guidelines about use of anonymous sources, types of ads that will or will not be accepted, and how to handle obituaries.
En banc – A decision at the bench. This happens when all of the judges in an appeals court sit on the bench and made decisions about major cases of note.
Ethics staff policy — See the New York Times ethics policy at http://www.nytco.com/press/ethics.html. An ethics policy should go far beyond just talking about conflicts of interest. It should also include, among other things, statements about plagiarism, copyright infringements and photo manipulations. It could be part of the overall editorial policy.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent federal agency established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating over-the-air radio and television. The FCC may also oversee long-distance telephone companies and other industries providing interstate communication services by wire. The FCC’s jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. possessions.
Felony – a crime carrying a minimum term of one year to life in state prison. In some states a death sentence can be given for a felony. Sentences of less than a year can be served in county jail. Sometimes called a “high crime” as found in the U.S. Constitution.
First Amendment – The first of the ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, which amended the U.S. Constitution and went into effect in 1791. The First Amendment guarantees individuals five specific freedoms: (1) freedom of religion, (2) freedom of speech, (3) freedom of the press, (4) freedom of assembly and (5) freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Forums – Three forums of expression are public forums, limited public forums and nonpublic forums. Public forums are those places where communicating of idea or sharing of information have historical been permitted. Limited forums are usually restricted by time, place and manner restrictions. Nonpublic forums are restricted by the nonpublic entity.
• Public (open) forum for student expression — A public forum, also called an open forum, is open to all expression that is protected under the First Amendment. This means a publication must accept comments or articles from virtually everyone. The key word is protected. It does not allow for expression in the nine categories of unprotected speech. Public forum status, according to the Student Press Law Center “is determined by examining two things: policy and practice. The key question is whether the government agency in question (a school, for example) intended to allow speakers to make their own content decisions. Official statements of the government’s intent are probably most important, but if such policies do not exist or are unclear, the practice or tradition of how the venue operates will be significant. For a more complete definition go to www.splc.org.
• Closed forum — Closed forums have not been established to function as places for free expression. “In a non-public forum,” the Student Press Law Center says, “government officials can limit expression as long as their restrictions are “reasonable” and not simply an effort to silence a particular viewpoint.” Go to http://www.splc.org/report_detail.asp?id=1279&edition=39 for additional information.
Fourth Amendment – guards against unreasonable searches and seizures Search warrants are delivered by officers of the Court for searches.
14th Amendment – The fourteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified and adopted in 1868. The 14th Amendment has itself been amended a number of times over the years. It includes the Citizenship Clause, which has been used to expand the definition of citizenship to include groups of people not recognized as full citizens under the U.S. Constitution when it was originally adopted. It also includes both the Due Process Clause, which recognizes that individuals are protected as both citizens of their state and of the United States (requiring, among other things, that states and state and local government officials not violate the federal Bill of Rights) and the Equal Protection Clause, which requires states to provide equal protection under the law to all persons.
Fourth Estate – A relating to the professional press. Often, relating to the press functioning as the watchdog of the government. http://www.australianpolitics.com/media/fourth-estate.shtml (where this info was obtained).
Guilty — When a jury or a court of law has ruled that a person is responsible for an offense of some type, then he is no longer accused. He is guilty. Until a person is found guilty, he/she is a suspect.
Independence – Keeping the business and editorial sections separate.
Model standards of professional journalistic conduct to students, administrators and others.
Empower students to make decisions of style, structure and content by creating a learning atmosphere where students will actively practice critical thinking and decision making.
Encourage students to seek out points of view and to explore a variety of information sources in their decision making.
Support and defend a free, robust and active forum for student expression without prior review or restraint.
Emphasize the importance of accuracy, balance and clarity in all aspects of news gathering and reporting.
Show trust in students as they carry out their responsibilities by encouraging and supporting them in a caring learning environment.
Remain informed on press rights and responsibilities to provide students with sources of legal information.
Advise, not act as censors or decision makers.
Display professional and personal integrity in situations which might be construed as potential conflicts of interest.
Support free expression for others in local and larger communities.
Counsel students to avoid deceptive practices in all practices of publication work.
Model effective communications skills by continuously updating knowledge of media education.
In wearing armbands, the petitioners were quiet and passive. They were not disruptive and did not impinge upon the rights of others. In these circumstances, their conduct was within the protection of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth. Pp. 505-506.
First Amendment rights are available to teachers and students, subject to application in light of the special characteristics of the school environment. Pp. 506-507.
A prohibition against expression of opinion, without any evidence that the rule is necessary to avoid substantial interference with school discipline or the rights of others, is not permissible under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Pp. 507-514.
• Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973) was an important United States Supreme Court case involving what constitutes unprotected obscenity for First Amendment purposes. The decision reiterated that obscenity was not protected by the First Amendment and established the Miller test for determining what constituted obscene material.
• Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986) was a United States Supreme Court decision involving free speech and public schools.
On April 26, 1983, Matthew Fraser, a Spanaway, Washington, high school senior, gave a speech nominating classmate Jeff Kuhlman for Associated Student Body Vice President. The speech was filled with sexual innuendos, but not obscenity, prompting disciplinary action from the administration.
• Dean v. Utica Community Schools (2004) is an important legal case in United States constitutional law, namely on how the First Amendment applies to censorship in a public school environment. The case expanded on the ruling definitions of the Supreme Court case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, in which a high school journalism-oriented trial on censorship limited the First Amendment right to freedom of expression in curricular student newspapers. The case consisted of Utica High School Principal Richard Machesky ordering the deletion of an article in the Arrow, the high school’s newspaper, a decision later deemed “unreasonable” and “unconstitutional” by District Judge Arthur Tarnow.
• Morse v. Frederick (2007) (Bong Hits for Jesus) was a school speech case in which the United States Supreme Court held that the First Amendment does not prevent educators from suppressing student speech, at a school-supervised event, that is reasonably viewed as promoting illegal drug use.
Letter to the editor —Publications operating as a limited public forum should be willing to accept letters to the editor. The editor should know who wrote the letter, and the publication should have a letter policy that dictates the maximum length acceptable and gives the publication the right to edit and/or to refuse to print. Editors need to realize a publication can be liable for libel based on the contents of a letter.
Misdemeanor – crime usually assessed by a fine or time in jail up to one year. Tried in local court not state or federal court. Traffic violations, drunken driving, disturbing the peace, etc.
Off campus speech — Schools are punishing students for what they consider inappropriate off-campus speech. If courts are allowing schools to do this for off-campus speech, it’s even more likely they would allow punishment for “inappropriate” language for on-campus speech. Punishment for off-campus speech has occurred because of what teens have said on their Facebook sites. In Morse v. Frederick, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a student for a banner he held at a school-sponsored event, even though he was off campus. Read about the case at http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2006/2006_06_278.
Open records law — Open records means that working newsmen have access to public information in order to do their job and inform their readers about government decisions. Each state and D. C. has its own open records law, so one needs to become familiar with the law in his/her state. The First Amendment Center’s web site at http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/Press/information/topic.aspx?topic=open_records gives more information.
Prior review — One means administrators use to censor articles is to review all articles prior to publication. This often means letting principals or other individuals review the entire publication prior to printing to decide what they will or will not allow. For arguments against prior review check out the Journalism Education Association’s comments at http://www.jea.org/about/statements.html#review.
Public figure – For purposes of American defamation law, in order to win a lawsuit, persons determined by courts to be public figures must show that not only was the information published about them false and seriously damaging to their reputation but also that it was published by people who either knew the information was false or who were reckless in verifying its accuracy. (A private figure generally must only show that the publisher was negligent, a much easier standard to meet.) Public figures will usually have voluntarily put themselves in the public spotlight and typically enjoy access to the media that allows them an opportunity to respond to false statements. That said, identifying who is and who is not a public figure is, as one judge said, like “trying to nail a jellyfish to a the wall.” Journalists are wise to treat all of their subjects the same and never publish information about an individual without doing all that they reasonably can to verify its accuracy.
Responsible journalism —Reporting should be non-biased, accurate and balanced without editorial comment, unless the reporter is writing an opinion piece, such as a personal column or a straight editorial giving the publication’s viewpoint. As well as being factual, reporting should also be free of grammatical and spelling errors. Responsible journalism means a publication will avoid doing anything that would cause it to lose its credibility. That means the publication will adhere to a Code of Ethics in all it does. To learn how to use the Internet as a reporter responsibly check out http://www.angelfire.com/wa/QRibbon/ . See also http://jeapressrights.org for JEA materials on responsible journalism.
Retraction – To take back a statement previously published (compare to “correction.”) A retraction is appropriate when an original statement is determined to be false in its entirety or, in some cases, when serious questions exist about its accuracy.
Role of the adviser —The role of the adviser should be to advise. He/she should be a coach, but not a player. He/she should make suggestions and critique the outcome, but he does not make the plays. Once the adviser starts doing the students’ work, they will expect it to continue to happen and they will not take ownership of the finished product.
School-sponsored – Speech that is at least partially supported by a school, typically by providing funding, personnel (e.g., a faculty adviser) physical resources or infrastructure overhead. In its 1988 Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier decision, the U.S. Supreme Court distinguished school-sponsored student speech from non-school-sponsored student speech. Only school-sponsored student speech may be subject to the Hazelwoodcensorship standard and even then some school-sponsored student speech is excepted.
Section 230 – A provision of the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. Section 230, that provides immunity from liability to Internet service providers for content created by third parties. (As interpreted by most courts, Section 230 also extends liability protection to Web site or blog owners.) For example, under Section 230, a news media organization could claim immunity for defamatory comments created and posted by non-staffers on its reader feedback section.
State action – in Federal Civil Rights cases a claim that a state employee like a sheriff invokes “color of law” to violate a person’s civil rights. The accused individual can sue for damages under the Civil Rights Act against such a violation of civil rights.
Supreme Court – highest court in the land. Decides constitutional questions granted by the Constitution, both in federal statutes when the federal government is involved.
Time, place, manner restrictions – Restricts places and times when people can convene under First Amendment right to assemble or speak in locations when the greater good of the citizens might be hindered by such assembly or speech – like in the middle of Time Square in the middle of rush hour.
Unprotected speech — Courts have held there are nine areas of unprotected speech—speech the First Amendment does not protect. According to the Student Press Law Center there are nine areas of unprotected speech. They are: obscenities; defamations; expressions intended to incite an unlawful action; fighting words (directed toward a person that will likely invoke a violent reaction); invasions of privacy; deceptive or misleading advertisements; clear and immediate threats to the national security; copyright violations; and expression on high school grounds that causes a material and substantial disruption, is indecent or vulgar, or advocates illegal drug use. For more complete definitions of some of these areas go to http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O184-UnprotectedSpeech.html.
Verification – Making sure the information the publication provides has been double or triple checked by a second person or editor.

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