Different states have different laws that may protect your confidential sources and source material. Different states base their protections on different sources of law. Who is protected, what information is protected, and the strength of protection varies greatly across the states.

The state-specific sections below provide information about legal protections in the fifteen most populous U.S. states and the District of Columbia. These sections also include information about the law applied by federal courts in that state. For a general overview of possible protections, see the section on Legal Protections for Sources and Source Material in this guide.