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22 Sep 06
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(09-21) 18:09 PDT -- Chronicle reporter Lance Williams' statement to the court on Thursday:
Judge, I am Lance Williams. Thank you for allowing me to address you as you consider what penalty to impose on Mark and me. I want to underscore something Mark said. We mean absolutely no disrespect to you or to the justice system when we say we cannot comply with the prosecutor's demands for our sources.
I've been a reporter since 1973, and I have spent much of that time covering legal matters, six years full-time at the Alameda County courthouse in Oakland, in and out of this courthouse countless times, and many others all over the West. I have gotten to know many judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers and court personnel, and have tremendous regard for the great majority of them and profound respect for the system they serve.
Perhaps I was attracted to reporting on courts because at its highest level the mission of our legal system seems to me to be similar to the ideals of public service journalism: Both seek truth to obtain justice. And so I have never been what you would call an absolutist when it came to the occasional Constitutional conflicts that have arisen over the years between the press and law enforcement or the courts.
Tensions are inevitable, but I always thought that almost all of those conflicts could have been resolved if the parties simply talked to each other enough to understand each other's perspectives on their respective Constitutional roles. I do find it ironic that I now find myself a defendant in a dispute of this sort; ironic, too, that in our case conversation and compromise have never seemed possible.
Judge, please do not think that I have made a choice to decline to accede to the prosecutor's demands. To me, the choice in this case is all the government's, and their demands are simply impossible for me to comply with. They demand that I give up my career and my livelihood -- for if I betray my sources, I cannot work any longer in investigative journalism, work that requires above all the ability to keep confidences.
They demand that I throw over some of my most deeply held ethical and moral beliefs: Both as a journalist and a person, I believe it is essential to keep my promises to people who have taken me at my word, and based on that have helped me with my work.
Finally, they demand that I betray our First Amendment, which I have tried to serve. I have been taught the First Amendment guarantees the people not only the right to voice their opinions about our government, but also the right to inquire into the workings of the government, and to have a Free Press that will inquire into the government's workings on their behalf.
And now we have reached a time in our country when the prosecutors say they have the power whenever they choose to subpoena reporters and make them government witnesses, and that they are going to exercise that power. Judge, I despair for our Free Press if we go very far down this road. Whistleblowers won't come forward. Injustices will never see the light of day. Our people will be less informed and worse off.
In determining how to punish Mark and me, I do ask for you to take into account the work we did and what has occurred in our country as a result. I know the prosecutor has said that our stories have no value, and were just a titillation, and so forth, but so many people disagree with him that I must disagree with him, too.
President Bush's praise of our work, which Mark mentioned, was particularly meaningful to us because the president has a significant understanding of the importance of sports to the American people, especially young people, and because the president was a leader in recognizing the dangers posed by the rise of steroids in our sports. I hope you can consider his perspective.
I would also mention Mrs. Garibaldi, a brave woman, who lost her dear son in a heartbreaking way, who says she believes our stories have prevented other boys from using these powerful drugs and ruining their lives.
I ask that if at all possible you consider her perspective too, and the perspective of the other people who have submitted declarations to you and who see our stories as valuable and an important public service.
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