shield law

noun

: a law that protects journalists from forced disclosure of confidential news sources

Examples of shield law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But the state in 2022 passed its shield law, which protects any identifying information of execution team members and suppliers of execution drugs from public release. —Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 13 Jan. 2025

But the state legislature passed a shield law two years ago allowing officials to keep lethal injection drug suppliers private. —Landon Mion, Fox News, 5 Jan. 2025

Now that this case is here, lawyers who closely study these laws say this is exactly the type of situation New York’s shield law is designed to combat. —Eleanor Klibanoff, Them, 16 Dec. 2024

The state has expanded access since Dobbs, enacting a 2023 shield law protecting medical records for out-of-state-patients and medical professionals providing care. —Cait Kelley, Baltimore Sun, 21 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

shield law

noun

: a law that prevents or protects against disclosure or revelation of information: as

a

: rape shield law

b

: a law that protects journalists from disclosure of confidential news sources