James Goodale

James C. Goodale
.
Born (1933-07-27) July 27, 1933 (age 91)
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma materYale University; University of Chicago Law School
Occupation(s)Lawyer, TV Producer/Host, Author
EmployerDebevoise & Plimpton
Known forPentagon Papers; Reporter's Privilege

James C. Goodale[1] (born July 27, 1933) was the vice president and general counsel for The New York Times and, later, the Times' vice chairman.

He is the author of Fighting for the Press: the Inside Story of the Pentagon Papers and Other Battles.[2][3] The book was named twice as the best non-fiction book of 2013 by Alan Rusbridger, editor in chief of The Guardian,[4] and Alan Clanton, editor of the online Thursday Review.[5] The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit cited "Fighting for the Press" in its decision May 7, 2015, limiting the controversial National Security Agency (NSA) domestic phone monitoring program.[6] He represented the Times in four of its United States Supreme Court cases, including Branzburg v. Hayes in which the Times intervened on behalf of its reporter Earl Caldwell.[7] The other cases were New York Times v. Sullivan, New York Times Co. v. United States (the Pentagon Papers case), and New York Times Co. v. Tasini. He was the leading force behind the Times' decision to publish the Pentagon Papers in 1971.[8]

After the Times' outside counsel, Lord Day & Lord, advised the Times against publishing classified information and quit when the United States Justice Department threatened to sue the paper to stop publication, Goodale led his own legal team and directed the strategy that resulted in winning the Supreme Court case of New York Times Co. v. United States.[9][10]

He has been called "the father of the reporter's privilege"[11][12] because of his interpretation of the Branzburg case in the Hastings Law Journal.[13] This led to the establishment of a reporter's privilege to protect sources in most states and federal circuits.[14] Goodale created the specialty of First Amendment law[15] among commercial lawyers. From 1972 to 2007, he established and chaired an annual Communications Law Seminar at the Practising Law Institute which through 2022 had over 20,000 attendees.[16] This led to the creation of a First Amendment Bar.[15] He continues to serve as the seminar's chairman emeritus.[17]

After he left The New York Times in 1980, he joined the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York City.[18] there he founded a corporate group and a litigation group dealing with media, intellectual property, communications, and the First Amendment.[19] These groups have represented many well-known U.S. communication entities including the New York Times, CBS, and NBC.

He served as chairman of the board for the Committee to Protect Journalists from 1989-1994.[20] During his tenure he built CPJ into a significant international force, instrumental in the release of imprisoned journalists around the globe.

From 1995 to 2010 he produced and hosted over 300 programs for Digital Age, a TV show on WNYE about the effect of the internet on media, politics and society.[21]

Since 1977 he has taught First Amendment and Communications law at Yale, New York University and Fordham law schools[22] and has authored over 200 articles in publications such as The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, and the Stanford Law Review.[23] Columbia Journalism Review has listed James Goodale as one of 200 who shaped New York Media.[24] He was named by Time magazine in 1974 as one of the rising leaders in the United States.[25]

Goodale was the recipient of the "Champion of the First Amendment Award," from the American Bar Association Forum in February 2014.[26]

On May 5, 2015, PEN America awarded the 2015 PEN/Toni and James C. Goodale Freedom of Expression Courage Award to the French satirical weekly, Charlie Hebdo.[27] Many of that magazines' editors had been killed in a homegrown jihadist terrorist attack.[28]

The award caused an international controversy as to whether it should have been given to Charlie Hebdo.[29][30] Over 200 writers signed a protest against the award and many withdrew from the PEN dinner at which the award was given.[31] In reply to attack on the award given by him and his wife, Goodale said, "the award is not for what is said. It's for the right to say it. In this case, journalists got killed for what they said. They should be honored, and my wife and I are extremely proud to do that." Victor Navasky, publisher of The Nation wrote an article titled "Why I Support PEN’s Courage Award to ‘Charlie Hebdo’"[32]

  1. ^ Goodale, James C. "Only Nixon Harmed a Free Press More." The New York Times. May 21, 2013. Retrieved on June 23, 2013.
  2. ^ Goodale, James (April 30, 2013). Fighting for the Press: the Inside Story of the Pentagon Papers and Other Battles. New York, NY: CUNY Journalism Press. ISBN 9781939293084.
  3. ^ Available at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Fighting+for+the+press&i=stripbooks&crid=3GOHY73WWE0G0&sprefix=fighting+for+the+press%2Cstripbooks%2C72&ref=nb_sb_noss
  4. ^ Rusbridger, Alan. "Books of the Year 2013". The New Statesman. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  5. ^ Clanton, R. Alan. "The 12 Best Non-Fiction Books of 2013". Thursday Review. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  6. ^ A.C.L.U. v. Clapper (2015 WL 2097814 (C.A.2 (N.Y.)))
  7. ^ "United States v. Caldwell". The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  8. ^ Goldsmith, Rick. "Most Dangerous Man". Archived from the original on 2008-06-12. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
  9. ^ Salisbury, Harrison (1 May 1981). Without Fear or Favor: An Uncompromising Look at the New York Times. New York, NY: Ballantine Books. ISBN 9780345297112.
  10. ^ Prados, John; Porter, Margaret Pratt (2004). Inside the Pentagon Papers. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 9780700613250.
  11. ^ Schwab, Nikki (25 October 2007). "QA: The Father of the Reporter's Privilege". U.S. News. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  12. ^ Aronson-Rath, Raney (13 February 2007). "Frontline News War Part II: Interviews Goodale" (Documentary). PBS - WGBH. Boston, Massachusetts. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  13. ^ Goodale, James C. (January 1975). "Branzburg v. Hayes and the Developing Qualified Privilege for Newsmen". Hastings Law Journal. 26 (3): 709. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  14. ^ "The Reporter's Privilege". Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  15. ^ a b Abrams, Floyd. "James Goodale Passes the Torch at PLI Communications Law Conference" (PDF). Media Law Resource Center. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  16. ^ "Communications Law in the Digital Age 2022".
  17. ^ "James C. Goodale".
  18. ^ N.Y. Times News Service (January 19, 1980). "Times' General Counsel Resigns". Star-News. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  19. ^ "James C. Goodale Biography".
  20. ^ "Board of Directors".
  21. ^ "James C. Goodale Digital Age TV".
  22. ^ "James C. Goodale Biography". James Goodale. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  23. ^ "The Shapers: New York Media 200" (PDF). Columbia Journalism Review. March 2001. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  24. ^ "In Quest of Leadership" (PDF). Time Magazine. 15 July 1974. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  25. ^ "ABA Champion of the First Amendment Award" (PDF). American Bar Association. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  26. ^ "Charlie Hebdo Magazine to Receive PEN Award". 25 March 2015.
  27. ^ Chrisafis, Angelique (12 January 2015). "Charlie Hebdo attackers: born, raised and radicalised in Paris". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  28. ^ Greenwald, Glenn (27 April 2015). "Read the Letters and Comments of PEN Writers Protesting the Charlie Hebdo Award".
  29. ^ Solomon, Andrew; Nossel, Suzanne (1 May 2015). "Opinion - Why We're Honoring Charlie Hebdo". The New York Times.
  30. ^ Schuessler, Jennifer (4 May 2015). "Charlie Hebdo Award at PEN Gala Sparks More Debate". The New York Times.
  31. ^ Navasky, Victor (5 May 2015). "Why I Support PEN's Courage Award to 'Charlie Hebdo'". {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)