A federal judge has rejected an Indiana city's attempt to force a newspaper to turn over records of its reporting on a Chicago man who was imprisoned for a decade and is suing for wrongful conviction.
U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Michael Gotsch ruled this week that the City of Elkhart's subpoena against the South Bend Tribune was "misplaced."
The subpoena sought records of communications between Tribune journalists, 51-year-old Keith Cooper and Cooper's lawyer. Cooper was convicted in a 1996 robbery in Elkhart but pardoned by Gov. Eric Holcomb in February 2017.
The city alleged that the newspaper was biased and working with Cooper to further his lawsuit against the city.
The Tribune reports that Gotsch says the city's suspicions about a conspiracy aren't supported by evidence.
