UPDATE: NY Judge Approves Subpoena of Fox Reporter

Arapahoe County, Colorado (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bronx County (N.Y.) Criminal Court Justice Larry Stephen this week signed off on a subpoena of Fox News reporter Jana Winter, requiring her to testify before Arapahoe County (Colo.) Judge William Sylvester concerning the confidential source(s) who allegedly provided her with information about a notebook Aurora shooting suspect James Holmes purportedly sent to a University of Colorado psychiatrist that allegedly detailed his plans to commit a mass killing.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Web site (www.rcfp.org) reported that Winter's New York counsel plans to appeal Judge Stephen's approval of the subpoena, along with the judge's decision to seal the court records of yesterday's hearing, which far exceed counsel's request merely to redact Winter's home address from the court file.

Judge Stephen's grant of the subpoena is grounded in New York criminal law that permits an out-of-state party, in this case, the State of Colorado, to request a New York judge to compel a Gotham State citizen to appear in a foreign court to deliver "material and necessary" testimony without subjecting the New York citizen to undue hardship. 

Among the issues before Judge Sylvester at a scheduled April 1 hearing is which shield law, as between
New York [N.Y. Civ. Rights Law Art. 7, Sec. 79-h] and Colorado [Colo. Stat. Sec. 13-90-113], if either, is relevant to Winter's assertion that she should not be required to divulge confidential sources to the court. (See "TUOL" post 2/5/13).