STATE v. DAVIS

No. 90457.

720 So.2d 220 (1998)

STATE of Florida, Petitioner, v. Merlan DAVIS, Respondent.

Supreme Court of Florida.

October 22, 1998.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Robert J. Krauss, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Chief of Criminal Law, and Helene S. Parnes, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, and Patricia R. Gleason, General Counsel, Office of the Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Petitioner.

James Marion Moorman, Public Defender and Allyn Giambalvo, Assistant Public Defender, Tenth Judicial Circuit, Clearwater, for Respondent.

Jonathan D. Kaney, Jr. and Jonathan D. Kaney III of Cobb, Cole & Bell, Daytona Beach, Florida, and Talbot D'Alemberte, Tallahassee, for News-Journal Corporation and First Amendment Foundation, Amici Curiae.

Patricia Fields Anderson of Rehdert, Anderson, McGowan & Steele, P.A., St. Petersburg, Florida, and Talbot D'Alemberte, Tallahassee, for Times Publishing Company and Diane Mason, Amicus Curaie.

Raymond Ehrlich, Sanford L. Bohrer, Gregg D. Thomas, and David S. Bralow of Holland & Knight LLP, Tampa, for Cape Publications, Inc., d/b/a Florida Today; Fernandina Beach News-Leader, Inc.; Florida Society of Newspaper Editors; Gainesville Sun Publishing Company; Jacksonville Television, Inc., d/b/a WJWB-TV Channel 17; Knight-Ridder, Inc., d/b/a The Miami Herald; Lake City Reporter, Inc.; Lakeland Ledger Publishing Corp.; Marco Island Eagle; News-Press Publishing Co.; Ocala Star-Banner Corp.; Pacific and Southern Co., Inc., d/b/a WTSP-TV; The Palatka Daily News, Inc.; Pensacola News-Journal, Inc.; Sarasota Herald-Tribune Co.; Sun-Sentinel Co.; Tampa Television, Inc., d/b/a WFLTV Channel 8; Television 12 of Jacksonville, Inc., d/b/a WTLV-TV; Tribune Co., d/b/a The Tampa Tribune; and WFTV.Inc, d/b/a WFTV and The Palm Beach Post, Amici Curiae.


OVERTON, Justice.

We have for review Davis v. State, 692 So.2d 924 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997), in which the Second District Court of Appeal held that the qualified reporter's privilege has no application in a criminal proceeding unless the privilege is based on the potential implication of a confidential source. In applying that holding to the instant case, the district court found that Merlan Davis, a defendant, was entitled to...

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