Two years ago, Christopher Robinson, a Contra Costa College student, was shot to death on CCC's campus. Just minutes after the shooting, Soren Hemilla, the photo editor for the school's student newspaper, the Advocate, arrived on the scene and took photos for about an hour. Three individuals were eventually charged with what the local media called a gang-related, execution-style murder. Before leaving the scene, police asked Hemilla to turn over his photos. He refused. Not long after, police obtained a subpoena from a California judge ordering Hemilla and the Advocate to turn over all unpublished photographs of the crime scene.

To their credit, the Advocate staff immediately decided to contest the subpoena and - in a surprise move - on the day of the hearing, the police dropped their demand for the material. The Advocate understood the growing danger posed nationally by law enforcement officials and attorneys who are increasingly using the press as an extension or even a substitute for their own investigators. Indeed, a 1993 study by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press found that more than half of the news organizations surveyed reported receiving a subpoena that year - a whopping 3,519 subpoenas between them. Fortunately, the study also revealed that when news media chose to fight back they won more than 80 percent of the time.

Being served with a subpoena is not just something that happens to others, and all student media should be prepared to respond. Moreover, because subpoenas typically require a recipient to answer within days (or, in the rare case, hours), a newsroom does itself a favor by developing a strategy or policy prior to actually being served. While an in-depth discussion is not possible in this column, the following suggestions should be kept in mind:

(1) You cannot ignore a subpoena. Regardless of whether you choose to fight it or comply, you must respond in a timely fashion. The amount of time you have to respond varies. A week or more is common. But there have been cases where a response was required within 24 hours. Once served, read the subpoena immediately and thoroughly.

(2) Contact an experienced media law attorney immediately. Time is of the essence. If you do not have or cannot afford an attorney, the Student Press Law Center can assist you in locating one (usually one who will assist you for free). But doing so takes time, as does drafting and filing the necessary legal documents, so act promptly.

(3) Once you have been served, you may not destroy any documents or other material the subpoena seeks.

(4) Become familiar with your state's shield law and/or qualified privilege. A shield law is a statute created by state lawmakers. A qualified privilege is generally based on the First Amendment's free press protections and created or recognized by courts. Almost all states have either one or both of these, which may provide journalists with a legal defense against having to comply with a subpoena.

For more information, contact the Student Press Law Center or check out the Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the Press's excellent and concise on-line guide regarding reporters' confidentiality issues at http://www.rcfp.org/csi/.

Visit the Student Press Law Center online at http://www.splc.org.