PROTECTING JOURNALISTS' CONFIDENTIAL SOURCES

On September 30, 2006 CFAC assembled a group of law and media experts to debate the most pressing legal issue facing journalists and news organizations today: How to protect against compelled disclosure of a news source who has been promised confidentiality. Our panelists, appearing at CFAC's Free Speech and Open Government Assembly at the Journalism School at UC Berkeley, represent all points of view:

Part I

Part II

Part III

PANELISTS
Judith Miller, controversial former investigative reporter for the New York Times, who refused to reveal a source in the Valerie Plame investigation. After the US Supreme Court in 2005 declined to hear the appeal in her case, Miller went to jail for contempt of court and was incarcerated for 85 days. She ultimately identified her source--Lewis "Scooter" Libby, as we now know--after he explicitly released Miller from her pledge of confidentiality.
Brian Sun, attorney for Wen Ho Lee, the atomic physicist who was falsely charged with passing nuclear weapons secrets to the Chinese government during the Clinton administration. Lee successfully sued the Justice Department and FBI for invasion of privacy through leaks to the press. Settlement of the case in 2006 involved payments to Lee not only from the government, but also from The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and other news organizations that had reported on the case and faced court orders to reveal their sources.
Robert Rosenthal, Managing Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Chronicle and two of its reporters have been held in contempt for refusing to reveal to federal prosecutors their confidential source for leaked transcripts of testimony to the secret grand jury investigating BALCO and steroid use in professional baseball.
Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., a media lawyer who represented Time, Inc. and Time Magazine reporter Matthew Cooper in their 2005 appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in the Plame matter. He has also authored an amicus brief in support of Josh Wolf, a freelance documentary journalist who has been jailed for refusal to disclose video outtakes of a violent street demonstration in San Francisco.
Joe Russoniello, former US Attorney for Northern California and currently Dean at San Francisco Law School.

MODERATORS
Duffy Carolan, CFAC board member and  partner in the San Francisco office of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, specializing in media and First Amendment law.
Karl Olson, CFAC board member and partner at the San Francisco law firm of Levy, Ram & Olson, specializing in First Amendment litigation for newspapers and other media clients.