(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has welcomed federal judge Jeffrey White’s decision on 1 March 2007 to cancel contempt of court findings and sanctions against “San Francisco Chronicle” reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada for refusing to reveal their sources of leaks in 2004 about an investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes. […]
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has welcomed federal judge Jeffrey White’s decision on 1 March 2007 to cancel contempt of court findings and sanctions against “San Francisco Chronicle” reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada for refusing to reveal their sources of leaks in 2004 about an investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes. They had been found in contempt of court in 2005 and faced up to 18 months in prison.
Their lawyers asked the judge to withdraw the proceedings against their clients after Troy Ellerman, a lawyer representing athletes accused of doping, admitted to being the source of the leak and said he would plead guilty to contempt of court, obstructing justice and filing a false statement.
Reporters Without Borders does not however regard the decision as a legal victory for the press, as federal legislation still does not recognise the right of journalists to protect the confidentiality of their sources. Californian video journalist and blogger Josh Wolf, 24, has been in prison since 18 September 2006 for refusing to surrender unpublished video footage to a federal grand jury (see IFEX alerts of 7 February 2007, 17 November, 21, 15 and 4 September, 2 and 1 August 2006).
