At the 50th Annual John R. Coen Lecture yesterday, Erwin Chemerinsky, the Alston & Bird Professor of Law and Political Science at Duke University, spoke about an unprecedented assault on freedom of the press, which he blames on the war on terrorism and the Bush administration, and the failure to provide special protection for the press under the First Amendment. Most surprising was his discovery of more than 400 secret hearings that do not appear on the court dockets in the District of Columbia district court. The audience was shocked since there has been no press about the dockets. When asked why it had not been in the press, Chemerinsky replied that it is difficult to report on a something in which there is no listing or record. Other unprecedented secrecy can be found in immigration proceedings, closed hearings, and details about detainees.Freedom of the press is also under attack because of the increased threat of prosecution for publishing classified information and of not revealing confidential sources. As one of the nation’s most famous and respected constitutional law scholars, Chemerinsky has had his pick of high-profile cases. This May, he will argue outed CIA agent Valerie Plame's civil lawsuit against numerous Bush administration officials, trying to persuade a judge that she and her husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had their free speech, due process, and privacy rights violated.Watch the whole lecture here.