Crowe

ORDER DENYING CBS’S OBJECTION TO MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S RULING; AFFIRMING MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S RULING ON MOTION TO COMPEL

I. Introduction

CBS Broadcasting Inc. (“CBS”), a non-party to this action, filed an objection to Magistrate Judge Ruben Brooks’ ruling compelling CBS to produce to defendant Summer Stephan the full interview of Stephan that was conducted by CBS in conjunction with the television news program “48 Hours.” The issue raised by this appeal of the magistrate judge’s order juxtaposes the First Amendment right to freedom of the press with the widely-accepted principle, embodied in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, that “litigants have a right to ‘every man’s evidence,’ and that wide access to relevant facts serves the integrity and fairness of the judicial process by promoting the search for the truth.” Shoen v. Shoen, 5 F.3d 1289, 1292 (9th Cir.1993) (quoting United States v. Bryan, 339 U.S. 323, 331 , 70 S.Ct. 724 , 94 L.Ed. 884 (1950)).

II. Background

This case arises out of the arrest of Michael Crowe and two of his friends for the murder of Michael’s sister, Stephanie Crowe. The charges against Michael Crowe and the other two boys were eventually dismissed, and…