Saw this link in another thread. Very interesting. Comes from the law office of the former long-time asst Missoula county prosecutor who oversaw criminal prosecutions. Kudos to Kirsten Pabst. Here are some quotes, and the link.
"Without getting into inappropriate detail, I assure you that the foundation for the string of ‘sexual scandal’ articles is not based in fact. The unfortunate reality is that the officials in charge of setting the record straight have their hands tied by the Montana Confidential Criminal Justice Information Act."
"So why can the Missoulian publish allegations labeling legally innocent people as ‘sexual offenders’ because a couple of disgruntled young adults, who get to remain anonymous, spin a good story to a reporter too lazy to check the facts? Why can a reporter combine sensational facts from different scenarios and weave them together into a fascinating tale of horror and shame? Why can one journalist invoke such fear in the minds of so many, with NOBODY, except an occasional blogger, calling foul? The answer is that reporters answer to no one, except their corporate owners who, by all accounts, need to sell many, many more papers than are currently filling the yellow boxes. Thankfully, most reporters are guided by their own sense of community obligation, truth and justice. But sadly, all of those reporters have moved on."
http://www.pabstlaw.net/Blog.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"Without getting into inappropriate detail, I assure you that the foundation for the string of ‘sexual scandal’ articles is not based in fact. The unfortunate reality is that the officials in charge of setting the record straight have their hands tied by the Montana Confidential Criminal Justice Information Act."
"So why can the Missoulian publish allegations labeling legally innocent people as ‘sexual offenders’ because a couple of disgruntled young adults, who get to remain anonymous, spin a good story to a reporter too lazy to check the facts? Why can a reporter combine sensational facts from different scenarios and weave them together into a fascinating tale of horror and shame? Why can one journalist invoke such fear in the minds of so many, with NOBODY, except an occasional blogger, calling foul? The answer is that reporters answer to no one, except their corporate owners who, by all accounts, need to sell many, many more papers than are currently filling the yellow boxes. Thankfully, most reporters are guided by their own sense of community obligation, truth and justice. But sadly, all of those reporters have moved on."
http://www.pabstlaw.net/Blog.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;