In a case that could reach the US Supreme Court, a journalist has been jailed in Texas because she is refusing to hand over notes to the FBI.
Vanessa Leggett is a 33-year-old freelance journalist, aspiring author, and writing instructor at the University of Houston.
Back in 1997, a millionaire bookmaker named Robert Angleton and his brother were charged with the murder of Mr Angelton's wife, Doris. The brother, Roger, allowed Ms Leggett several interviews with him. Roger eventually committed suicide and left a note wherein he confessed to the crime. Robert Angleton was acquitted.
Ms Leggett said she planned to write a book about the case. But the FBI has continued its investigation into the murder and now prosecutors want Ms Leggett to hand over her notes. Unlike many US states, including California, Texas does not have a reporter's shield law that protects journalists' confidential sources.
A grand jury was convened and demanded that Ms Leggett hand over her notes. She refused, citing the First Amendment and freedom of the press. Judge Melinda Harmon ruled that Ms Leggett was in contempt of court and ordered her jailed. That was over a month ago.
The case has drawn national and international attention from journalists' groups and media organisations, many of whom have filed amicus curae, or "friend of the court" legal briefs.
The Committee for Protection of Journalists noted in a statement that in the western hemisphere only three journalists are currently imprisoned, and two of them are in Cuba. The third is in Texas.
"Leggett's prolonged incarceration sends a disquieting message to journalists in the US and abroad", said the CPJ. "We believe that fewer journalists are incarcerated around the world today because of the opprobrium attached to governments that use jail or the threat of jail to suppress critical reporting. By detaining Vanessa Leggett, the US government is effectively reducing the stigma associated with jailing of journalists." Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has called for the US Attorney General, John Ashcroft, to review the case, saying that she believes the Justice department has not followed its own guidelines.
For her part, Ms Leggett is determined and says she will not relent. "I am supposed to be teaching school next week," she told a local news station. "This is a case of a writer seeking publicity. This is a case of the government trying to stop the American public's right to a free press."
Ms Leggett wears prison-issue clothes and shares a two-person cell.
A court decision on whether to free her is expected Monday. If she is held, the case could reach the Supreme Court.