I. BOTH THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND FEDERAL COMMON LAW RECOGNIZE JOURNALISTS THE QUALIFIED PRIVILEGE TO RESIST CRIMINAL PROCESS. Both the First Amendment and federal common law recognize journalists' qualified privilege to resist criminal prosecution. This brief analysis first analyzes both the Supreme Court's position and reasoning in Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665 (1972), is its lower circuit interpretation of the reporter's privilege under the First Amendment. The brief then examines the Fed. R. Evid. 501 and the evolution of federal common law relating to journalist privilege. Tenth Circuit reviews district court's order granting motion to quash grand jury subpoena for abuse of discretion. See In re Grand Jury Records, 616 F.3d 1186, 1201 (10th Cir. 2010). “A district court abuses its discretion when it makes an error of law.” United States v. Commanche, 577 F.3d 1261, 1266 (10th Cir. 2009). Whether the First Amendment or federal common law grants journalists the qualified privilege to resist criminal trials is a pure question of law. The Tenth Circuit considers purely legal questions de novo. See In re Grand Jury Subpoenas, 906 F.2d 1485, 1488 (10th Cir. 1990).A. The district court correctly recognized the qualified reporter privilege arising from the First Amendment that protects against disclosure of classified information in a criminal context. The district court correctly held that, “based on Silkwood, . . . the Tenth Circuit would grant journalists the qualified privilege to resist criminal trials.” R. point 3. This statement is consistent with both the Supreme Court's reasoning in the Branzburg case and the vast majority of circuits' interpretation of Branzburg.1. The Supre... the center of the card... stronger than Jaffee"). Furthermore, there are strong public policies to protect journalists from forced disclosures. Press protection has the private purpose of encouraging people to provide truthful and newsworthy information to journalists anonymously. Such protection also serves the important public function of keeping the public informed and providing essential information for making government decisions in a democracy. See Ashcraft, 218 F.3d at 287. Indeed, confidentiality is essential for journalists to sustain their relationships with sources and to obtain sensitive information from them. Without it, the press cannot effectively serve the public by keeping them informed. Therefore, public policies also strongly favor protecting journalists from inadvertent disclosure of confidential news sources, including in criminal cases.