To Get to the Truth, Go to the Primary Source, Says New York State Bar Association Media Literacy Panel
Constitutional and public law attorney Christopher Riano was quoted by the New York State Bar Association in coverage of its convocation on media literacy, where legal leaders emphasized the profession's role in helping the public discern fact from fiction in a rapidly evolving information environment. In a dialogue with former U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco about how the U.S. Supreme Court decisions are portrayed in the media, Mr. Riano underscored the importance of primary sources and critical reasoning, recommending reading both majority and dissenting opinions to understand the court's rulings in full context.
"My mother gets very energized when she reads about Supreme Court cases in the news because of the world that we're in," he said. "We instituted my own media literacy rule, which is: 'I don't want to hear about what you've read in the news. You have to actually read the Supreme Court opinion, and then you can call me and talk to me about it.' It saves me a few days, because she takes her time to read it, [and] she then knows what the opinion actually says."