Jailed writer's appeal hearing to be closed to public

By The Associated Press,
freedomforum.org staff

08.09.01

Printer-friendly page

Vanessa Leggett

HOUSTON — The appeal proceeding of a Houston writer who was jailed for refusing to turn over her research notes for a book about a society murder will be closed to the public.

The federal appeals court hearing the appeal Aug. 15 also will not allow news media organizations seeking to get involved in the case to present arguments to the court.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans yesterday denied a request filed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Society of Professional Journalists to argue before the court on behalf of Vanessa Leggett.

Leggett, 33, was found in contempt of court by a U.S. district judge on July 20 and ordered jailed without bond for refusing to turn over her notes to a federal grand jury investigating the 1997 slaying of 46-year-old Doris Angleton, wife of millionaire former bookie Robert Angleton.

Gregg Leslie, legal defense director for the Reporters Committee, said he was shocked that the 5th Circuit court would close a hearing regarding a journalist's claim of privilege.

He told freedomforum.org today that his group was working to get news media groups to challenge the closure.

Leggett has been in a federal detention center since July 20.

The last time the Justice Department had a journalist jailed was in 1991, when four reporters in South Carolina refused to testify at a corruption trial, said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Arlington, Va.-based Reporters Committee.

The Houston Chronicle reported yesterday that Mike DeGeurin, Leggett's attorney, said the Justice Department had asked for all originals and copies of the writer's taped interviews. He told the newspaper that he suspected the government could be worried about how agents would be portrayed if Leggett's work were published.

Leggett has not been a published journalist but has contributed to a law enforcement manual and says she has done interviews for books she hopes to publish, according to the Chronicle article. She has claimed a First Amendment right and a journalist's privilege to keep her notes secret.

Dalglish told The Washington Post for an Aug. 1 article that it was dangerous to allow the government to define who is a legitimate journalist. Leggett's work gathering information intended for public dissemination should be enough to qualify her as a reporter, she told the Post.

"This is of great concern to journalists," Dalglish was quoted in the Post. "They want everything she had, and they don't want her to be able to keep it. ... That is very chilling."

DeGeurin told the Chronicle that he found the decision to close the appeal proceedings unusual, especially since he was told the court specifically listed which lawyers and clerks could attend the session.

But a Houston-based news media attorney who has worked on the case told the Chronicle that because grand juries are sacrosanct to the court, he was less surprised that this hearing would be closed. John Edwards said courts often close proceedings when grand jury questions are involved.

The federal investigation into the slaying came after a state court jury acquitted Doris Angleton's husband, Robert, of her murder in 1998. Doris Angleton was found shot to death in her River Oaks home April 16, 1997. Robert Angleton and his brother, Roger, were charged with capital murder. State prosecutors alleged that Robert Angleton hired his brother to kill his wife to prevent her from getting millions of dollars in a divorce settlement. Roger Angleton committed suicide in the Harris County Jail in February 1998, before his trial. But he left behind notes confessing to shooting his sister-in-law. Roger Angleton wrote that he planned the murder and framed his brother to extort money from him.

Leggett interviewed Roger Angleton while he was in the county jail.

Update

News organizations appeal for public hearing for jailed writer
Motion contends constitutional interests override any possibility that grand jury information might be disclosed during oral arguments.  08.14.01

Previous

Writer who refuses to turn over research still in Texas jail
News media groups petition federal appeals court to overturn contempt-of-court order.  07.31.01

Related

Jailing of Texas writer sets journalists on dangerous path
Commentary Move by Justice Department against Vanessa Leggett threatens foundation of free press.  08.11.01