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# Brownley supports tight lips
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/brownley-supports-tight-lips/
- Published: 2007-08-22T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T02:37:08.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Crime, Malibu, #archive-import

*Proposed law would keep officials mum*

SANTA MONICA COURTHOUSE Luckily for Hollywood bloggers, the Paris Hilton defamation trial begins here today, rather than later, when their ability to access exclusive and confidential information about the hotel heiress’ court hearing might very well be illegal.

Following the leak to celebrity news Web site TMZ.com of Mel Gibson’s drunken anti-Semitic tirade during an arrest in Malibu last year, lawmakers are pushing a legislative bill that would impose penalties against law enforcement and public officers who leak confidential information for financial gain to the press.

If the law was in effect today, Hollywood reporters would face bigger hurdles convincing someone on the inside to disclose confidential court documents related to the hotel heiress defamation trial. Hilton is being sued for $10 million by model Zeta Graff.

Sponsored by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) and requested by Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, AB 920 would make it a misdemeanor for public officials to disclose confidential information to a third party for payment, requiring them to not only return the financial compensation if caught, but also be fined $1,000\. That’s not to mention the strong possibility of disciplinary action by their employer.

Brownley was not available for comment.

The bill would also make the solicitation of such a transaction illegal.

The Gibson arrest last summer prompted discussions among officials in the sheriff’s office to push for a law that would criminalize leaks for financial gain after learning there wasn’t one on the books, said Wayne Bilowit, the legislative advocate for the county sheriff’s office. Hilton’s recent stint in the women’s jail in Lynwood only magnified the situation when it was revealed that a photographer was willing to pay up to $500,000 for a photo of the celebutante in her county prison digs.

The problem lies in the Internet media, which Bilowit believes is much more aggressive than mainstream news media in getting out headlines immediately. He contrasts it to the O.J. Simpson murder trial in the 1990s when there didn’t seem to be as much pressure to release exclusive information.

“They’re willing to pay more money,” he said. “It’s checkbook journalism in order to get heads up.”

The bill was unanimously passed in the State Assembly in May and is due on the State Senate floor in the next two weeks.

The California Newspaper Publishers Association has come out against the proposed bill, calling it a violation of First Amendment rights.

Whether a document is confidential and prohibited from disclosure depends on timing, said Tom Newton, the attorney for CNPA.

“It’s a matter of timing and context so when you create criminal liability for release of information that is sometimes prohibited and sometimes not, you’re creating a lot of confusion unnecessarily,” Newton.

In Santa Monica, where the city was prominently featured in tabloids and entertainment networks after Lindsay Lohan was arrested for drunken driving last month, there hasn’t been any recent case of a law enforcement officer disclosing information that is off limits to the public, said Lt. Alex Padilla of the Santa Monica Police Department. That includes the Lohan arrest.

“Every law enforcement agency at some time runs into a situation where something might get out to the public,” Padilla said. “We’re pretty good about keeping that information within the organization.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 22, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/082207.pdf?ref=smdp.com)