Sedona reporter tests Rule 122

Tommy Acosta, editor of the Sedona Times and a freelance writer for Sedona.biz, has been ordered by the Sedona Magistrate Court to show cause why he should not be found in “indirect civil contempt” for allegedly videotaping a court proceeding.

Jennifer S. Paetkau, an assistant city attorney for the City of Sedona, alleges that Mr. Acosta, while attending a driving-with-suspended-license Arraignment proceeding for Melinda Arnold June 17 at the City Council Chamber, with the knowledge of the defendant, videotaped the proceeding without permission from the court, therefore violating Rule 122(f) of the Arizona Rules of the Supreme Court.

Read more: http://www.sedona.biz/sedona-reporter-accused0109.htm

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For more than 20 years, the FAC's Hotline has provided free advice to journalists in the state. The focus of the FAC Hotline is to protect access to government, with emphasis on advice relating to the public's rights (1) under the federal and state Open Meetings Laws to attend and report meetings of governmental bodies; (2) to obtain public records under the federal Freedom of Information Act and Arizona's Public Records Law; (3) to resist search warrants and subpoenas; and (4) to attend, report and photograph court proceedings.

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