law

Final Exam

Media Law MFSJ 3040

Fall 2022

Prof. Johnson

This Final Exam is in relation to the issue of newsgathering, specifically public access, as discussed in the final few weeks of "MFJS 3040 - Media Law" Fall 2022.

Part of your final exam consists of a mock hearing in which you will play the role of a lawyer retained to represent a media organization, or a lawyer retained to represent a government agency. You will present your argument in front of the judge (me, Prof. Johnson) in class.

There are 20 students in the class; ten students will be assigned to play the lawyer for media organization, and ten will be assigned to play the lawyer for the government. (You will receive an email from me detailing which role you will play.) You will be randomly paired with the opposing lawyer. And, argue in pairs—media lawyer and government lawyer—before the Court in class on Thursday, November 17 or on Tuesday, November 22.

If you are a lawyer for the media organization, your client has already filed a CORA/CCJRA request for access a public record (see hypo below for additional information), but the agency has denied you access to the record.

If you are a lawyer for the government, you have already reviewed the media organization’s CORA/CCJRA and denied that request (see hypo below for additional information).

Once you receive your assigned role, review the hypothetical and follow the instructions.

The materials for the final exam are as follows:

1) Draft/write persuasive brief (500-1000 words) to the Court setting forth your client’s position on access to the record. The brief must be turned in by the beginning of class (email is fine) on Tuesday, November 22, 2022, no later than 8am.

a. With the briefs, your job is to use the relevant law and apply the facts in the hypothetical to make the best argument you can on behalf of your client. I will also be attaching case law for you to refer to. You should read the case, and cite from the case as necessary to persuade the judge of your point.

(Note: The case law should be cited as CASE NAME, [VOLUME] [REPORTER ABBREVIATION] [PAGE NUMBER], [PIN CITE] [(COURT & DATE)]. For example, here is a case citation that matches the format:

Daniels v. City of Commerce City, 988 P.2d 648, 650 (Colo. App. 1999). Do not spend a lot of time correctly citating the case. You may refer to it as Daniels v. City of Commerce City on first reference, and after that, Daniels is fine. You will not be graded on how well you cite the case, but you must refer to and use the case to make your argument.)

2) Prepare a two-minute oral argument setting forth your position as lawyer for the media organization or the agency (you will NOT need to turn this into me. This is for your own use during the argument). Do not read from your brief for the entire two minutes. The judge (me) will ask you a question related to the hypothetical/or your brief. The arguments will begin on November 17 and continue on November 22.

To prepare for this exam, please review content posted from Week 7 in Canvas. You can also refer back to rcfp.org government guide.

The final exam is graded out of 50 points: The brief is graded out of 35 points and the oral argument is out of 15 points.

If you have a question about the hypothetical, or do not understand something, email me [email protected]. If it is an emergency, text or call me at (303) 915-9585.

Good luck!

Final Exam Hypothetical

Media Law MFSJ 3040

Fall 2022

Prof. Johnson

Avery Terry was recently elected to be the next Governor of the great state of Colorado! Before becoming Governor-elect, Terry was a successful ethics lawyer with a medium-size law firm in Boulder. She is overcome by the news of her governorship, giving local and national interviews, and readying preparations with her transition team to succeed Governor Chris Apple. Governor-elect Terry will officially be sworn into office in a matter of days. Weeks before the swearing in, Ben Simms of The Denver NewStar (who is known as a no nonsense political reporter who has a reputation for holding all public officials accountable) received a tip from a source that Terry is on the brink of a divorce from her husband Greg. The couple has been quietly living apart for several months, but Greg has come on the campaign trail, along with their two children, to keep up appearances. In fact, Terry has specifically branded her campaign using the slogan "Family Values for Colorado, for all of America." She has given stump speeches touting her 15-year relationship with her husband, provided quotes to the media about "always putting family first," and has prided herself on being a wonderful wife and mother who will also be "married" to the role of Governor. Her values were one of the main reasons why Family Together, a superpac group, donated nearly $12 million to her campaign. Because the divorce petition has not been filed yet, Simms is eager to get his hands on any information related to the impending divorce. He is also on a tight deadline, hoping to get the story out asap. Unfortunately, Simms can't get his story out before Terry is sworn in, and there is still no divorce announcement. However, on January 31, Simms's source provides him with another tip: Gov. Terry was spotted leaving Alvin James's, head of the Family Together superpac's, one-bedroom condo at Midnight on January 29, 2023. Simms recalls that during a press conference that day, Terry mentioned that her husband and kids were headed to visit family friends and she would join them later. Nevertheless, on February 1, 2023, Simms files a CORA request with the Office of the Governor of Colorado for "any and all emails, texts or messages from Governor Terry to Alvin James from January 27-January 31, 2023." Note that Governor Terry did not officially take office until January 29, 2023.

After three days, a custodian from the Governor's office denies Simms request on the ground that the Governor's personal email and text messages are not public records under C.R.S. § 24-72-202(6)(a)(I) and C.R.S. § 24-72-202(7). But, Simms responds to the Office saying that he wants her work and personal emails, texts or other messages. Afterall, she does use a work cellphone and computer. If the Office of the Governor is a state agency, can the Office deny Simms's CORA request (which includes his subsequent response) on the ground that the emails, texts or other messages are NOT public records? Lawyers for The Denver NewStar: argue that the records Simms requested ARE public records under the definition of C.R.S. § 24-72-202(6)(a)(I) and C.R.S. § 24-72-202(7) of the CORA. Lawyers for the Office of the Governor: argue that the records Simms requested are NOT public records under the definition of C.R.S. § 24-72-202(6)(a)(I) and C.R.S. § 24- 72-202(7) of the CORA. Use the law C.R.S. § 24-72-202(6)(a)(I) and C.R.S. § 24-72-202(7) to make your case; also use the holding, law and facts in the case Denver Post Corp. v. Ritter, 207 P.3d 954 (Colo. 2009) (in Canvas, ignore the motion to dismiss and other procedural issues) to write no more than 1,000 word persuasive brief and prepare your argument to the Court setting forth your client’s position on access to the record. The brief must be turned in by the beginning of class (email is fine) on Tuesday, November 22, 2022, no later than 8am.