Obituary: Richard N. Winfield

Richard N. Winfield, a distinguished First Amendment attorney renowned for his unwavering commitment to safeguarding press freedoms, passed away on October 22 in Manhattan. He was 91 years old. His daughter, Nicole Winfield, reported that he succumbed to head injuries sustained from a fall on October 7.

For three decades, Mr. Winfield served as the chief legal counsel for The Associated Press (A.P.), where he crafted innovative legal strategies aimed at protecting journalists’ confidential sources and unpublished materials. His efforts included challenging attempts to restrict media access to court proceedings, advocating for the presence of cameras in courtrooms, and shielding newspapers from libel lawsuits when they republished articles from wire services like The A.P., a cooperative news organization.

In a landmark moment during the 2004 presidential campaign, Mr. Winfield played a pivotal role in guiding A.P. reporters to access the military records from the Vietnam War era of both President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry, the Democratic nominee. The scrutiny centered around whether Mr. Bush had met his service obligations and whether Mr. Kerry accurately recalled his combat experiences.

After retiring from the prestigious law firm Rogers & Wells in Manhattan in 2000, Mr. Winfield co-founded the International Senior Lawyers Project. This organization mobilizes volunteer attorneys to advocate for free expression, judicial reform, and accountability, while also providing protection for journalists facing governmental oppression and stringent judicial restrictions.

A 2021 report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization highlighted the project’s significant intervention on behalf of Issa Amro, a Palestinian human rights defender. Amro faced charges of “disturbing public order, hate speech, and insult” in proceedings before an Israeli military court and a magistrate’s court in the West Bank city of Hebron.