Media organizations including CNET, AP and Bloomberg are asking San Mateo County Judge, Clifford Cretan, to unseal records about the police investigation into Gizmodo. Documents the media are looking for include the search warrant that was issued, allowing police to search Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s house.
The San Mateo County district attorney is opposing the request. In an four-page legal brief (PDF), prosecutors say the media’s First Amendment right does not “outweigh the rights of the people to protect the identity of persons who may have provided information to law enforcement in confidence during the initial stages of the investigation.”