Josh Wolf’s “jailing looks like a huge misunderstanding, in which prosecutors assumed, incorrectly, that Wolf possessed relevant evidence, while Wolf believed, erroneously, that he had a responsibility to go to jail even if he had no relevant evidence,” says Peter Scheer. Scheer (pictured) — a lawyer, journalist and executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition — asks in a Chronicle op-ed whether Wolf’s imprisonment for 7 1/2 months was necessary.

The Chron also gave space to Wolf, who argued for a federal shield law:

[Chronicle staff writers Mark] Fainaru-Wadu and [Lance] Williams could have just as easily been in my place at FDC Dublin. There are no protections afforded to journalists in the context of a federal grand jury. The debate over who qualifies as a journalist can wait, but we need a federal shield law now.