It is within the last quarter century or thirty years. And a lot of that law has turned out to be very, very protective of the press and the public's right to know. Floyd Abrams centurylawlot Change image and share on social
Here we have a situation where a defendant in a case agrees to an interview with Dan Rather. It happened to be not confidential. But it was an interview with Dan Rather. Floyd Abrams agreecaseconfidential Change image and share on social
My role in it was not as central as it was in some of the later cases considering I was younger then and I was playing a role of co-counsel on the case. Floyd Abrams casecentralcounsel Change image and share on social
There are some circumstances in which the First Amendment interest comes up against another interest that is really important and in which we have to make a decision in a particular case as to which is more important. Floyd Abrams amendmentcasecircumstance share on social
I still owe a duty of loyalty to my clients and former clients, so I cannot specify which clients I did not especially find congenial, but the cause was the same. Floyd Abrams clientcongenialduty Change image and share on social
It just seems to be a human trait to want to protect the speech of people with whom we agree. For the First Amendment, that is not good enough. So it is really important that we protect First Amendment rights of people no matter what side of the line they are on. Floyd Abrams agreeamendmentgood share on social
Were this not Texas, were there not a state where there were no protections at all and where the law was clear on that, I think CBS and Mary Mapes and Dan Rather and all of us had a very good chance of winning. So this is an ongoing battle about an issue of principle. Floyd Abrams battlecbschance share on social
I am really impressed by lawyers who write books and tell us that they never lost a case. Most lawyers who have never lost a case have not had enough hard cases. But there are very difficult cases out there. Floyd Abrams bookcasedifficult share on social
CBS exhausted the Texas courts. They went from the trial court to the intermediate court to the highest court. Floyd Abrams cbscourtexhaust Change image and share on social
I know a lot of reporters certainly will go to jail to defend confidential sources. Some have even gone to jail for an issue like this. But I can't say that's the norm. Floyd Abrams confidentialdefendissue Change image and share on social
