Judge Upholds Reporter's Right to Protect Sources in Chinese Spy Story
Judge upholds reporter's right to protect sources
Tom Ramstack
Friday, July 25, 2008
A federal judge in California supported a reporter's right to protect confidential sources on Thursday, ruling in favor of Washington Times national security reporter Bill Gertz on First Amendment grounds.
In a ruling that reverses a pattern of gradual encroachment on the right to protect sources, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney found that Mr. Gertz could not be compelled to answer questions on a May 16, 2006, article about a Chinese espionage case because his First Amendment right to protect his sources outweighed the government's need to identify those sources.
Judge Carney, whose court is in Santa Ana, Calif., also refused federal prosecutor Jay Bratt's request for time to appeal the ruling. However the prosecutor told the court that the Justice Department is pursuing a separate grand jury investigation of the leak that sparked the case and indicated Mr. Gertz may be subpoenaed in that probe.
--MORE--
Tom Ramstack
Friday, July 25, 2008
A federal judge in California supported a reporter's right to protect confidential sources on Thursday, ruling in favor of Washington Times national security reporter Bill Gertz on First Amendment grounds.
In a ruling that reverses a pattern of gradual encroachment on the right to protect sources, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney found that Mr. Gertz could not be compelled to answer questions on a May 16, 2006, article about a Chinese espionage case because his First Amendment right to protect his sources outweighed the government's need to identify those sources.
Judge Carney, whose court is in Santa Ana, Calif., also refused federal prosecutor Jay Bratt's request for time to appeal the ruling. However the prosecutor told the court that the Justice Department is pursuing a separate grand jury investigation of the leak that sparked the case and indicated Mr. Gertz may be subpoenaed in that probe.
--MORE--