truebluefan

Two Chronicle reporters must disclose their sources of grand jury testimony by Barry Bonds and other prominent athletes about the use of performance-enhancing drugs, a federal judge in San Francisco said Tuesday in a ruling that could lead to the jailing of the reporters.

Neither the constitutional right of freedom of the press nor federal law shields journalists from testifying to a federal grand jury about confidential sources, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White said.

"The court finds itself bound by the law to subordinate (the reporters') interests to the interests of the grand jury'' in discovering the source of the leaks, White wrote. "The grand jury is inquiring into matters that involve a legitimate need of law enforcement.''

complete article