The County doesn't have the right to reporters' sources and unpublished information, a judge decided Tuesday.
Former L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonnell, front left, and L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey refused to disclose records that are public under California law, according to a lawsuit filed last year by the Los Angeles Times.
In granting a motion for a protective order, Superior Court Judge Mary Strobel decided Times reporters don’t have to answer questions as part of pretrial litigation. She sided with Times attorney Kelly Aviles, who argued that the county already has access to the information it was demanding from Times reporters.
“We do believe that he probably got it and maybe they aren’t aware of it,” Lustig said, referring to the letter the county says it sent in response to a records request filed in 2017 by Times editor Jack Leonard. In a court filing last week, Times attorneys said the county “has sunk to a new low in its efforts to obstruct access to public records. The county seeks to invade the constitutionally protected rights of journalists with utterly unnecessary discovery demands.”