State's Attorney wrongly takes on student journalist

Hmmm, there was trouble I thought last year when she was on the cable access TV program Public Affairs she said that no one should buy guns and that we're safer without them. She was mentioned in a recent article regarding an Illinois Supreme Court ruling about having guns in your car. She really doesn't trust people with guns.

Today she turns her attention to Northwestern University journalism students:

The story involves Anthony McKinney, who has been in prison for more than 30 years for gunning down a security guard.

McKinney wants his freedom, arguing he's innocent, based on evidence gathered by journalism students at the Medill Innocence Project at Northwestern University.

Alvarez wants all the students' notes and materials, as well as their class grades, to see if they skewed their reporting for better grades.

Her prosecutors also allege the students paid for witness statements, an allegation the young journalists firmly deny.

But Alvarez is guilty of trying to do an end run around a key right for reporters.

In Illinois, there's the Illinois Reporter's Privilege Act. Because of the act, a prosecutor must jump through several high hoops before a judge will allow access to a reporter's source materials.

She a Latina woman who was the first to be elected Cook County States Attorney. She had two things going for her if no one was really impressed by her background as a prosecutor for the Cook County State's Attorney. She was a woman and a Latino. That works for a lot of people especially if they want to see more Latinos or women in offices like these.

Unfortunately one wonders if she just realized the powers of her office and is a little to eager to use them.

Via CapFax morning shorts.