A federal judge in San Francisco ruled Tuesday that two reporters must reveal who provided them with secret grand jury testimony of Barry Bonds and other star athletes on steroid use.
Attorneys for the San Francisco Chronicle reporters had tried to quash a subpoena to appear before a grand jury investigating the leak. They argued that forcing journalists to disclose their sources would undermine the 1st Amendment and the ability of the news media to gather news.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White acknowledged the importance of the news media in "bringing issues to the forefront of public attention" and how confidential sources "are often essential ... in that task."
But he ultimately agreed with federal prosecutors that journalists have no special protection from grand jury inquiries, citing the 1972 Supreme Court decision in Branzburg vs. Hayes, as well as subsequent rulings from appellate courts.
"The court finds itself bound by the law governing this case to subordinate the [reporters'] interests to the interests of the grand jury," White wrote.
He noted that the secrecy of grand jury proceedings was critical to the system of justice and outweighed the news media's need to promise confidentiality to sources possessing vital information.
The reporters plan to appeal the decision to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
"We are deeply disappointed with the court's decision but note that the court acknowledged the important 1st Amendment interests at stake," said Eve Burton, counsel for Hearst Newspapers, which owns the Chronicle.
"Judge White clearly felt constrained by the court of appeals' decisions, and that is where we are headed next. We believe we will ultimately prevail, and that is clearly what is in the public's best interest."
Phil Bronstein, editor of the Chronicle, said Tuesday, "We will not comply with the government's effort, which we believe is not in the best interests of an informed public.
"We will pursue all judicial avenues available to us," he said, according to the newspaper's website.
Reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada, 41, and Lance Williams, 56, were subpoenaed to a federal grand jury in May to reveal who provided them with testimony of baseball stars Bonds, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield in the federal probe of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative.
The reporters used the testimony as part of a series of stories on steroid abuse that sparked national debate and pushed Major League Baseball to impose punishments on steroid users.
