N.J. judge refuses to force reporter to turn over notes
By The Associated Press
08.22.02
NEWARK, N.J. — A reporter's notes about the death of a Russian boy do not have to be given to the boy's adoptive parents, who are charged with his death, a state judge has ruled.
Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman said information gathered by Matthew Reilly, a reporter for The Star-Ledger of Newark, fell under New Jersey's Shield Law.
Attorneys for Robert and Brenda Matthey of Union Township were seeking the notes because they claim the information would shed light on the hypothermia death of their adopted son, Viktor Matthey, 7. The couple is charged with manslaughter.
State law protects newspapers from such disclosures unless the information cannot be obtained from any other source and is vital to a criminal defense. In his ruling, Coleman said the couple's attorneys could get the information on their own.
Reilly wrote a story about a year after the boy's death, recounting neglect by the boy's alcoholic birth parents and his life in an orphanage during the first six years of his life in Russia.
The story also detailed the year Viktor spent under the Mattheys' care, leading up to his death.