The State : Silent Reporter May Face Jail

A reporter who refuses to divulge details of a jailhouse murder confession to a judge will be the first California journalist in two years to go to jail--unless she gets a reprieve, or decides to talk. Contra Costa Times reporter Erin Hallissy, 29, says she has had sleepless nights and troubled days since being found in contempt of court Wednesday for refusing to answer questions about her exclusive jailhouse interview with John Sapp, charged with three murders. She faces jail in Contra Costa County starting in 9 days. Hallissy feels her fight is not just hers, but one for journalism. She contends that just the abstract threat of jail has stopped reporters from doing more stories on criminal figures. “I think reporters are not as anxious now to do interviews with the suspects,” she said. Hallissy claims enterprising jailhouse reporting has freed a number of innocent people from jail. The California Newspaper Publishers Assn., Society of Professional Journalists, Chronicle Publishing Co., and the Bay Guardian have asked the state Supreme Court to hear her appeal.