The lawyers at Fowkes Rodkeyare also experienced First Amendment practitioners.  Joe Rodkey has represented media outlets in a number of high profile press access to court proceedings and records cases, including high profile case involving the federal prosecution of the famed former Allegheny Coroner and forensic pathologist, Cyril Wecht in U.S. v. Wecht, 484 F.3d 194 (3rd Cir., 2007) and U.S. v. Wecht, 537 F.3d 222 (3rd Cir., 2008), where Joe helped one of Pittsburgh’s largest media outlets gain access to information improperly sealed by the government and successfully challenged a local federal rule constituting a gag order on attorney speech. In addition, in  Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Gilbert Martinez, No.724 WDA 2004 (Pa. Super. 2007), Joe represented a major media outlet in convincing the Pennsylvania Superior Court that letters delivered to the sentencing judge before a high profile local political criminal defendant was sentenced fell within the scope of “judicial records” accessible to the public.

In addition, Joe Rodkey has litigated cases under the Federal Freedom of Information Act and is experienced in the recently enacted Pennsylvania Right to Know Act.