Fair Trial/Free Press Conference: Social Media, Gag Orders, and Freedom of the Press

On May 1, 2024, the Government Law Center at Albany Law School commemorated Law Day with a virtual program, Fair Trial/Free Press Conference: Social Media, Gag Orders, and Freedom of the Press, in collaboration with the Columbia Journalism School. 

Founded in 1969, the Fair Trial/Free Press Conference brings together members of the press and the criminal legal system to promote understanding and to assure both the right to a fair trial and the protection of a free press. The conference combines a discussion of a hypothetical scenario with an overview of media law and constitutional law.  

A panel of judges, journalists, lawyers, and law enforcement officials explored the legal, ethical, and practical issues that can arise in a fictional scenario involving a gubernatorial candidate facing financial fraud charges, controversial social media posts and exposés, gag orders, anonymous juries, and restrictions on press access to the courts. Panelists discussed the interplay of the Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial and First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press to attend and report on trials. The hypothetical for this program is available at https://www.albanylaw.edu/media/22331.  

The panel discussion was moderated by: 

• The Honorable Albert Rosenblatt (ret.) — Former Associate Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals; Counsel at McCabe & Mack LLP; Judicial Fellow at the New York University School of Law
• Rex Smith — Former Editor at the Albany Times Union; Co-host of The Media Project on WAMC

Panelists included: 

• The Honorable Darcel Clark — Bronx County District Attorney; Former Associate Justice, New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department
• The Honorable John P. Cronan — U.S. District Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
• Nicholas A. Gravante Jr., Esq. — Partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
• Michael Gerber, Esq. — Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters, New York City Police Department
• Dana Green, Esq. — Senior Counsel, The New York Times Company
• Joseph F. Kroetsch, Esq. — Partner and Media & First Amendment Practice Leader at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
• Tandy Lau — Public Safety Reporter, New York Amsterdam News
• Nicholas Lemann — Joseph Pulitzer II and Edith Pulitzer Moore Professor of Journalism; Director, Columbia Global Reports; Dean Emeritus, Columbia Journalism School
• Martina Stewart, J.D. — Team Lead on Legal Intelligence, Bloomberg Law