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Successful Newspaper Theft Prosecutions
Newspaper theft can be succesfully prosecuted. Here's the proof (which, of course, you should print out and share with your local law enforcement officials and prosecutors):
• University of California at Berkeley: In January 2003, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates pled guilty and was fined for his role in trashing 1,000 copies of the Nov. 4, 2002, edition of University of California at Berkeley's student newspaper, which carried an editorial endorsement of his mayoral opponent. The SPLC Report story and court document are available here.
• University of Florida: SPLC Report article (Spring 1988) and court documents.
• Pennsylvania State University: SPLC Report article (Winter 1993-94).
• University of Texas-Austin: UT Daily Texan article (September 1995), court documents and SPLC Report story (Winter 1996-97) reporting successful prosecution.
• University of Kentucky: SPLC Report article (Fall 1997) and court documents.
In addition to criminal prosecution, other legal avenues for pursuing newspaper thieves may also be available. In the case below, a federal court jury found that a city police chief violated federal civil rights law for his role in the confiscation of a "free" community newspaper.
• "The Bay Times," San Francisco: (1) SPLC article , (2) relevant portions of civil docket in Coming Up, Inc. et al v. San Francisco County, et al.
For general information on prosecuting newspaper theft, see the Student Press Law Center's Guide to Newspaper Theft.
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