The webmaster of “gripe site” aimed at a Rutgers University official can’t seek cover from a New Jersey law that generally prohibits police from searching news organizations’ offices, a state appeals court ruled on Thursday.

“It is clear…that a person does not become ‘free from searches and seizures’ under the [Subpoena First Act] solely by virtue of a claimed newsperson status,” the Appellate Division said in Oettinger v. Bedminster.