CYBER RIGHTS
When the California Attorney General's Office agreed to stop its subpoena campaign against journalist Peter Sussman, the victory was more than his to celebrate. The state had also threatened to subpoena all emails and postings from the Well regarding media access to prisoners. But in the end both Sussman and the online community walked away scot-free.
The legal hullabaloo began in August 1996, when inmate Robert Woodard sued a warden and other prison officials after being removed as editor of The Communicator, the newspaper at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo. Woodard was punished for contacting Well member and journalist Jon Sievert - a violation of California's then-unwritten rule forbidding one-on-one interviews between inmates and reporters.
In the widening ripple effect, the state subpoenaed Sussman, a Well regular and frequent writer on prisoner issues, believing he may have aided Woodard. During depositions in January and March 1999, the state's lawyers demanded that Sussman turn over all his notes and writings related to the plaintiff or any defendant in the case. Many of these writings, which date back to 1989, were part of informal conversations that took place on email or through postings on the Well.
The state "suspected a conspiracy among journalists to circumvent prison rules," says Sussman. But he insists that Well members were simply discussing an issue of public policy.
According to Nathan Barankin, a California Justice Department spokesperson, email can be subpoenaed in a lawsuit. But Sussman doesn't understand why he suffered legal pressure when the emails were not pertinent to whether the prison system violated Woodard's civil rights. In the end, Sussman was vindicated, perhaps in part due to the state's reluctance to raise the ire of the world's most voluble online community.
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