In the Irish Times, Kevin Cullen adds a significant detail to the Boston College archive ruling. From the Irish Times report Boston College declined Judge Young’s offer to seek a stay and appeal his decision, saying it would turn the records over to him by tomorrow. Pete Baker
Via Newshound. The Boston Globe reports the long awaited US court ruling on the release of the Boston College archive material. And it’s something of a half-way house. For now. From the Boston Globe report A federal judge rejected yesterday a motion by the trustees of Boston College to quash subpoenas that order them to turn over recordings of former members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and other items to British officials investigating crimes including murder and kidnapping. But Judge …
There’s lots to talk about today, not just because of the declaration of the Deputy First Minister to run the Aras… but also in spite of it… For instance, this week’s Private Eye has this interesting claim on the Boston College story: The Eye has also learnt that the subpoenas are based on a false claim that one of the interviews with Price, published in the Sunday Life newspaper in February last year, was based on an interview with the …
I’ve previously noted how some local media seems to get a free pass from the PSNI over their sources/stories while others are dealt with more proactively and recently we’ve seen the press collectively oppose attempts to turn them into an evidence gathering arm of the state. The ongoing legal case to access the Boston College oral history archive may indicate elements of the media already acting in that evidence gathering capacity (hopefully unwittingly). It is impossible to know which arm …
As we wait for the US court’s ruling on the release of the Boston College archive material, it’s worth noting that there have been a number of recent articles in which some interested parties have made their views known. A couple of weeks after a Boston Globe editorial called on the college to release the information requested, a joint op-ed from Ed Moloney and Anthony McIntyre appeared in the same paper. Accompanying it was a separate article from columnist Kevin Cullen arguing the same lines. …
In a contentious conspiracy theory, the History News Network’s Chris Bray helpfully points to the US Department of Justice’s response to the motion by Boston College to quash the federal subpoena requesting the College’s Northern Ireland archive material. From the HNN post quoting the DoJ briefing [HNN added emphasis] In its Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the United Kingdom, the federal government has traded away the role of the courts, leaving discretion only in the hands of the executive branch: “Notably, the …
As the legal process continues the disturbance of the past continues apace… Liam Clarke has an interesting piece from yesterday’s Sunday Times up on Nuzhound today. In it points out that there is a fascinating clash between history and the law. In particular hightlights the current case in which the PSNI has a US Federal subpoena out to try and get material information on given by Dolours Price: Price has told me she will not make a statement or speak …
According to the New York Times report, Boston College has filed a motion to quash the federal subpoena seeking access to their Northern Ireland archive. Their reported argument is worth noting. From the New York Times report Lawyers for Boston College argue that releasing the interviews would break the I.R.A.’s “code of silence” and could lead to “punishment by death,” according to the filing. “Our position is that the premature release of the tapes could threaten the safety of the participants, …
Those involved in Boston College’s Northern Ireland archive continue to mutter about the motivations behind, and potential damage to future research from, the subpoena for their source material. But as the Boston Globe report notes However, Stephen Pope, a theology professor at BC, said the guarantee of confidentiality to interview subjects is at best, naive, and at worst, manipulative, especially when conducting research like the BC project that “has such grave significance for society.’’ “It’s important to get legal advice …
There’s been an edited version published of two of the interviews held in Boston College’s Northern Ireland archive – which now also contains the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) archive. Now the New York Times reports that Boston College has received a supoena for the source material. In exchange for candor, the people being interviewed were assured that the contents would remain sealed until they were dead. Now, however, authorities in the United Kingdom want oral histories that were given to Boston College …
