Judge Backs Chevron's Grab for Documentary Out-takes in Ecuador Case

A federal district judge in New York ordered documentary film-maker Joe Berlinger to turn over more than 600 hours of raw footage from his film "Crude," about a lawsuit by natives in Ecuador charging Chevron with polluting the Amazon rainforest there.

Berlinger had argued that the footage was protected from subpoena by his privilege as an investigative journalist. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan sided with Chevron and ruled May 6, 2010, that Berlinger had not produced any evidence that the film was covered by privileged confidentiality agreements.

• "Filmmaker Told To Hand Over 600 Hours of Unedited Footage," Associated Press via First Amendment Center, May 7, 2010.
• "Chevron's New Tactic Called A Threat to First Amendment," Huffington Post, April 29, 2010, by Tracy L. Barnett.
• "Filmmaker Tries To Quash Chevron Subpoena," News Media Update, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, May 5, 2010, by Cristina Abello.