Shielding Sources

   News item: A federal appeals court has ordered New York Times reporter James Risen to testify in a case involving leaks of CIA information. Risen has refused to reveal his sources, citing First Amendment protection.
   But the court ruled that protection does not apply, since Risen's "direct, first-hand account of the criminal conduct" can't be obtained by alternative methods used by prosecutors, according to a news report in the Times.
   
   The argument is that legal beagles should use all other means available to get information, and if they still can't, then reporters can be forced to testify. Journalists have long used sources who need to be anonymous for various reasons, and the law in most states has upheld that tradition.
   Journalists protect their sources, and many have gone to jail rather than reveal them. 
   But if one reporter can research and find sensitive information, so can prosecutors. Police, too, have "confidential informants."