Floyd Abrams
Floyd Abrams
Floyd Abramsis an American attorney at Cahill Gordon & Reindel. He is an expert on constitutional law, and many arguments in the briefs he has written before the United States Supreme Court have been adopted as United States Constitutional interpretative law as it relates to the First Amendment and free speech. He is the William J. Brennan Jr. Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionLawyer
CountryUnited States of America
case interest particular
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.
battle cbs chance clear dan good issue law mary ongoing rather state
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.
believed believes cbs dan fought hard journalist people principle rather stake understand work
CBS fought very hard on this because it believed and believes that there's a principle at stake here. The principle is that Dan Rather doesn't work for the police, and that people that speak to Dan Rather understand that he's a journalist and not a police agent.
certainly issue reporters
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.
cares issues public
I really did try to write it so that an educated public that cares about issues like this doesn't have to be a lawyer and can read it and understand it.
case less people whether wins
I think that it is important for people to understand that whether a good-guy or a bad-guy wins a case is less important than what the law is that the case results in.
basis benefit information
It is not to benefit CBS, not to benefit its reporters. On this one, the entire basis of it is this is a way to get more information, more important information to the public. And that's why so many states recognize this.
cbs courts effect found producer though
The question at the end of the day was, the courts having found there was no defense, a producer about to go to jail, should CBS in effect tell the producer go to jail even though there is no law at all that we can use to get you out of jail?
cbs highest trial
CBS exhausted the Texas courts. They went from the trial court to the intermediate court to the highest court.
cbs fight fought principle protect remains television though
The principle though remains the same, and the important thing is CBS fought hard, very hard, to protect that principle and will fight again.
defending risen serious solid
We would be defending that. Mr. Risen did a serious and solid job. He has made no apology.