Bloggers get seriously legal

The Bear Flag League, an association of eighty California bloggers, has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in that case up north where Apple is demanding that a website identify its sources of leaked information. It's the legal case that has spurred much discussion over whether bloggers are journalists and should be covered by reporter shield laws protecting confidential sources. The BFL argues that bloggers are entitled to protection:

The brief filed by the League today urges the Sixth District Court of Appeal to afford these website publishers and all bloggers the same privileges and protection from discovery that traditional print and broadcast journalists enjoy under the United States and California Constitution. Because these website publishers targeted by Apple are engaged in the same news gathering and reporting activities as print journalists, broadcast reporters and Internet bloggers, they have the right to protect their confidential sources and thereby maintain a strong, independent and free press.

The Bear Flag League, which has its own website, is an affiliation of conservative-leaning bloggers, I believe (although I seem to recall they have quibbled with that label in the past.) Member lawyers Justene Adamec of CalBlog, Jeffrey Lewis of SoCalLawBlog and Benjamin P. Hugh of Ben's Law led the way on the brief. The brief and more details are posted at SoCalLaw Blog (which sports a spiffy redesign.) Other familiar L.A. members include Patterico, BoifromTroy, Patio Pundit and Moxie, but the whole roster, with locales, is at the website.