There were lots of questions from my committee members for the bills heard before mine. They dealt with vehicular homicide and drag racing.

Ditto for the one afterwards, where the subject was traffic citations.

But very few for my two bills, where the issue was freedom of speech and the press.

Wealthy public figures are filing lawsuits in Great Britain because the burden of proof in libel actions favors the plaintiff. The cost of defending against these actions chills reporters and authors from writing about these people.

My legislation would prohibit Maryland courts from enforcing these judgments if the foreign jurisdiction does not provide at least as much protection for freedom of speech and press as both the United States Constitution and the Maryland Constitution.

There were no questions from the chairman because he had been called out of the room. However, two media attorneys and I had discussed this legislation with him in his office before the bill hearings.

My second bill dealt with the Maryland law that protects journalists from revealing their confidential sources. It would extend this statute to include reporters for a college newspaper.

This is not a hypothetical problem. The District Attorney in Chicago issued a warrant for the notes of journalists at Northwestern University, where reporting by the Innocence Project has freed people from Death Row.

Before next week’s voting session, I’ll talk with my fellow committee members to see if they have any questions or concerns about these two bills.