August 21, 2008

Peoria County Juvenile Court v. Hopkins

Posted December 31st, 2007 by dardia

Summary

Threat Type: Denial of Access	Date: 07/25/2007
Status: Concluded	Location: Illinois
Disposition:	Verdict/Settlement Amount: n/a
Legal Claims: Access: Courts
Elaine Hopkins, a blogger from Peoriastory.com and former newspaper reporter, sought to observe and cover a juvenile court hearing in Peoria, Illinois. After the assistant state's attorney Susan Lucas objected to Hopkins' presence in the courtroom, Judge Albert Purham, Jr.... read full description

Parties

Party Issuing Legal Threat:	Party Receiving Legal Threat:
Peoria County Juvenile Court, Judge Albert Purham, Jr.	Elaine Hopkins
Type of Party:	Type of Party:
Government	Individual
Location of Party:	Location of Party:
Illinois	Illinois
Legal Counsel:	Legal Counsel:
None

Description

Elaine Hopkins, a blogger from Peoriastory.com and former newspaper reporter, sought to observe and cover a juvenile court hearing in Peoria, Illinois. After the assistant state's attorney Susan Lucas objected to Hopkins' presence in the courtroom, Judge Albert Purham, Jr. , citing Illinois' Juvenile Court Act, refused to allow Hopkins to remain in the courtroom for the proceedings, concluding that bloggers are not journalists under Illinois law.

Under the Illinois Juvenile Court Act, the general public, except for the "news media," are excluded from juvenile proceedings. See 705 ILCS 405/1-5 (6).

Hopkins reported on the incident in her blog, and the issue has received some sympathetic coverage in the local press. Hopkins did not take any legal action against the court or Judge Purham.

Related Links:

Illinois Juvenile Court Act

PeoriaStory.com: Bloggers not journalists, Peoria judge says

HOI19-ABC News: Bloggers as journalists debate

HOI19-ABC News: Citizen Journalism: Who Qualifies?

PeoriaPundit.com: 'So-called blog' story is picking up traction, shining light on under-reported story

For What It's Worth Blog: News media -- but not new media? Blogger barred from Juvenile Court

Scott's Blog Experience: Bloggers are NOT Journalists

Citizen Media Law Project Blog: Bloggers Are Not Journalists, Illinois Juvenile Court Judge Declares

Details

Website(s) Involved:	Content Type(s):
PeoriaStory
Publication Medium:	Subject Area(s):
Blog	Access to Courts

Court Information & Documents

Location of Filing/Threat:	Source of Law:
Illinois	Illinois
Court Name:	Court Type:
Peoria County Juvenile Court	State
Case Number:

Relevant Documents:

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Last updated on April 22nd, 2008

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Peoria County Juvenile Court v. Hopkins

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