Newspaper Held in Contempt for Not Surrendering Unpublished Photos

The Oakland Tribune was held in contempt of court for refusing to turn over eight unpublished photographs subpoenaed by a protester who faced trial Wednesday for resisting arrest.

“She ordered us to hand over [the] photos . . . and I said no,” chief photographer Ron Riesterer said.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Taber on Tuesday delayed her order sending Riesterer to jail pending an appeal of the contempt citation by the newspaper.

Tribune attorney Duffy Carolan invoked California’s shield law, arguing that the media must provide unpublished material only if it can materially affect the outcome of a case.

The photographs are being sought by Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi, 24, who is charged with resisting arrest July 21 during a free-speech protest outside KPFA-FM radio in Berkeley after its parent, the Pacifica Foundation, forced the station off the air and locked out the staff.

Meanwhile, an appellate court has overturned a contempt-of-court ruling against a Bay Area reporter who refused to testify about unpublished material in a murder case.

Dan Fost, now a media columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, had been ordered to pay $1,000 per day for every day he refused to answer certain questions about a murder case he wrote about when he was a reporter for the Marin Independent-Journal. Fost answered defense questions but refused to answer cross-examination questions about unpublished material. He claimed protection under the shield law.