While this incident may seem far removed from many Utahns, we all should take notice and demonstrate a greater commitment to protecting journalists' sources. Specifically, the Utah Legislature and the Utah Attorney General's Office should take steps to ensure that news sources feel safe in giving information to journalists about issues of public concern.
Judith Miller, a Pulitzer Prize winner who works for The New York Times, and Matt Cooper, a reporter at Time magazine, face up to 18 months in jail for refusing to comply with a grand jury subpoena demanding they reveal conversations with confidential sources about who leaked the identity of a CIA operative to columnist Robert Novak.
Like many cases in which government prosecutors subpoena journalists, the current federal investigation led by Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney in Chicago, has undertones of political motivation.
In July 2003, Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador in Iraq, accused the Bush administration of distorting the facts about Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction. Possibly in retaliation, someone within the Bush administration may have violated federal law by leaking to Novak the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame, who happens to be married to Wilson.
At a recent American Bar Association meeting, I heard Miller articulate a compelling case for a federal shield law - similar to laws in many states - that would protect journalists' sources. Miller stated that she is willing to go to jail rather than comply with the subpoena because complying would signal to her sources that she breaks promises of confidentiality.
Ironically, Miller never even wrote an article about Plame.
In Utah, too many journalists have been served with subpoenas by government prosecutors and other lawyers. In the past decade alone, at least six reporters have been confronted with the possibility they might have to decide whether they - like Miller - are willing to go to jail to protect their sources and the information they gather.
Some Utah cases, like the current case involving Miller and Cooper, seemed to be fishing expeditions. For example, a Deseret News reporter in 2002 was subpoenaed by the Massachusetts Democratic Party in a dispute over Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's residency status during his time as boss of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. But the reporter possessed no information that Romney didn't already freely admit.
Other subpoenas served on Utah journalists came in murder cases and involved alleged jailhouse confessions. In one of these cases, in 2002, a St. George newspaper reporter was forced to testify even though the defendant, Claudio Martinez, reportedly confessed also to prosecutors and even to members of the victim's family.
This issue may be as important as any facing our country's democracy. In an era of armed international conflict and sharp domestic debates about the balance between individual liberty and collective security, fealty to the First Amendment's speech and press clauses is critical to ensure the public has the information it needs to make decisions about the direction of our government.
Utah is one of just a handful of states without a shield law protecting reporters' sources and other information. In addition, Utah appellate courts have yet to recognize the reporter's privilege.
It is high time for the Utah Legislature to consider passing a shield law protecting reporters' sources and other information. Such laws exist in more than two-thirds of the states, and Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut recently introduced legislation to create a federal shield law.
In addition, the Utah Attorney General's Office and the respective county attorneys in Utah's 29 counties should consider adopting guidelines similar to those in federal regulations to ensure that prosecutors do not pursue reporter subpoenas in relatively unimportant situations.
Without these protections, we can rest assured that sooner or later another Utah journalist will face a dilemma like the one facing Miller and Cooper. If even a single Utah reporter is forced to make a decision between going to jail or breaking a promise of confidentiality, all Utahns will suffer.
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Edward L. Carter is an assistant professor of communications at Brigham Young University. He holds a law degree from BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School and a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University.
