Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- September 1, 2023
- Location
- Dedham, Massachusetts
- Targets
- NBC News
- Legal Orders
-
-
subpoena
for
communications or work product
- Sept. 1, 2023: Pending
- Sept. 20, 2023: Objected to
- Oct. 11, 2023: Quashed
-
subpoena
for
communications or work product
- Legal Order Target
- Institution
- Legal Order Venue
- State
Subpoena/Legal Order
A portion of a Massachusetts judge’s ruling on Oct. 11, 2023, striking down prosecutors’ motion to force correspondents from NBC News and ABC News to disclose footage from their interviews with Karen Read ahead of her trial on murder charges.
NBC News was subpoenaed on Sept. 1, 2023, for interview footage in connection with a murder trial in Dedham, Massachusetts. A judge struck down the request the following month, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
In July, NBC News released a preview of a “Dateline” segment in which correspondent Dennis Murphy interviewed Karen Read, who stands accused of the murder of her boyfriend in a case that has captured national attention.
Prosecutors filed a request with the court two months later, asking that it compel NBC to turn over the full interview recording, including any unaired footage.
Massachusetts does not have a formally recognized reporter’s shield law protecting journalists from being forced to disclose newsgathering materials. Prosecutors issued a similar subpoena to ABC News on Sept. 1 as well.
In a Sept. 20 letter to the court, an attorney representing both national broadcast networks informed the court that they had not received notice of the subpoenas and raised objections to turning over the materials.
In her ruling on Oct. 11, Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone struck down the prosecutors’ requests, noting that they had not followed the required procedures for obtaining materials from out-of-state, nonparty witnesses.
After the case against Read ended in a mistrial in July 2024, prosecutors tried to obtain NBC’s interview recordings and notes again, attempting to get around the subpoena procedures by including NBC’s Needham-based affiliate, WBTS-CD. That subpoena did not move forward either.
NBC did not respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
